Caged ballerina freed by Putin in US prisoner swap

A BALLERINA jailed by Vladimir Putin for making a donation to a Ukrainian charity has been freed as part of a prisoner swap between the US and Russia, American officials said yesterday.

- By Christopher Bucktin

Ksenia Karelina, 34, was arrested in February 2024 in Yekaterinburg and later sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of treason.

The allegation stemmed from a £40 donation she made in 2022 to the US-based charity Razom for Ukraine, which gives humanitarian aid to Kyiv.

Ms Karelina, an amateur ballerina and spa worker who moved to the US in 2012 and became a citizen in 2021, was visiting family in Russia when she was detained.