Ballerina jailed in Russia could be released next year in prison swap: lawyer

The Russian-American ballerina imprisoned in Russia for donating a little over $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity expects to be released in a prisoner swap next year, according to her attorney.

Ksenia Karelina, 33, recently had her appeal rejected by the Second Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction, Radio Free Europe reported.

Her lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, was quoted in the Russian media saying that his client “will be exchanged in February 2025,” according to NewsX.

Karelina, who lived in Los Angeles, was arrested while visiting family in Yekaterinberg in January 2024.

She was initially held for petty hooliganism, but the charges were eventually upgraded to treason.

During the trial this summer, the court claimed that Karelina “transferred funds in the interests of a Ukrainian organization” on the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

The spa worker – who received US citizenship in 2021 – was sentenced to 12 years behind bars, which White House spokesperson John Kirby denounced as “ludicrous.”

Karelina pleaded guilty to the treason charges during a closed trial that took place the same day as Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s “sham trial.”

Gershkovish was subsequently freed in early August as part of a historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the West.

At the time, Karelina’s lawyer hinted that he hoped his client could also be freed in a similar exchange.