Russia and the United States held a prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi on April 10, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, just as the two countries' officials were meeting for diplomatic talks in Istanbul.
Moscow released Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual national accused of treason for allegedly donating $51.80 to the nonprofit organization Razom for Ukraine, the WSJ wrote. Last year, she was sentenced to 12 years in prison for what Russian authorities presented as funding the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In exchange, Washington reportedly freed Artur Petrov, a German-Russian dual citizen who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.
"American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media.
Rubio attributed her release from Russian detention to U.S. President Donald Trump, adding that Trump "will continue to work for the release of all Americans."
"The exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship," a CIA spokesperson said, the WSJ reported.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official negotiated the swap, an undisclosed CIA official told the WSJ.
Ratcliffe was present at the Abu Dhabi airport where the exchange took place, according to the newspaper's source.
This is the second prisoner release negotiated between the U.S. and Russia since Trump took office. Moscow released Marc Fogel, a U.S. schoolteacher who was jailed in Russia on drug charges, in February.
While U.S. officials have not said what Russia was gaining in exchange for Fogel's release, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said the deal was a sign that Trump was making progress in his attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
After taking office, Trump brought a major shift in the U.S.'s foreign policy, with Moscow praising his efforts to restore bilateral relations despite Russia's ongoing full-scale war against Ukraine. Since February, the U.S. and Russia have held several rounds of talks, with one of them taking place on April 10 in Istanbul.
Russia has arrested many U.S. nationals since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, with several Americans now serving lengthy sentences or awaiting trial. Under former President Joe Biden, the White House accused Moscow of orchestrating the arrests in hopes of future prisoner swaps for Russians held in the U.S.
Dominic Culverwell
(Updated: )
