The Trump administration has successfully negotiated the return of Ksenia Karelina. Karelina is a former ballerina who holds dual US-Russia citizenship. The 33-year-old flew to Russia to visit her family in January 2024. Russian authorities arrested her on the basis of treason.
The Russian government discovered that Karelina has donated $51 to a pro-Ukraine charity. The seemingly negligible donation was enough to land her in jail. She was then detained and taken to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, which is 21 hours away from Moscow, by car.
Ksenia was charged with treason and sentenced to serve 12 years in prison. The former ballerina spent a total of 15 months in a Russian prison. Karelina returned to the US after the government negotiated a high-profile prisoner exchange to bring her back home.
The dual citizen reunited with her fiancé on April 10, 2025, in Washington, DC. Van Heerden, her boxer fiancé, was seen hugging her as soon as he saw her. “I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina, is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” Heerden was heard telling reporters right before Ksenia landed in the US.
He also noted how his fiancée had endured a “nightmare” by spending 15 months in a Russian prison. “I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return,” Van Heerden said.
🚨BREAKING: Ksenia Karelina dives into the arms of @TheHeat001 after a fight that lasted 14 months AS TRUMP does what Trump does best 🤝
Ksenia was sentenced to 12 years in prison by Russia for donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity. She spent over a year behind bars to-date.… pic.twitter.com/tgjfXsFlnB
— Tristan HAMM (@RealTristanHamm) April 11, 2025
The American government exchanged a German-Russian citizen named Arthur Petrov to bring Ksenia home. Petrov was serving time in prison for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.
Ksenia Karelina, who was a resident of Los Angeles, lost her old life, including her job, over the past year. The former ballerina has to put the pieces of her old life back together while she recovers from her traumatising experience in Russia.
Van Heerden launched a GoFundMe campaign for his fiancée, which urged people to donate money to help Karelina. The page states how the funds would go towards helping Ksenia “restart her life.” Heerden shared how his partner “lost everything: her job, her car, her apartment, and of course, her credit score has taken a hit.”
Behind the scenes from the Oval—President Trump welcomes Ksenia Karelina to the @WhiteHouse after securing her release from a Russian prison where she spent the past 15 months of a 12 year sentence. Because of POTUS, she is now home in the United States of America, a free woman… pic.twitter.com/Si3v3jcwZy
— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) May 5, 2025
Karelina previously worked at the Ciel Beverly Hills as an esthetician. The GoFundMe page’s fundraising goal is set at $25,000 at the moment. People have stepped up to help out Ksenia, and the page has raised over $12,000 in donations.
Trump recently addressed Ksenia’s release from the Russian prison. “They released the young ballerina, and she is now out, and that was good,” the President said. He noted that the Russian government’s gesture was “appreciated.”
