OAN Staff James Meyers
11:16 AM – Monday, May 5, 2025
President Donald Trump will be hosting a Russian-American ballerina at the White House on Monday, thanks to the efforts of the Trump administration, who was able to secure her release from a Russian prison.
Ksenia Karelina will meet with the 47th president on Monday. The dancer was facing 12 years in a Russian prison after she was accused by Russian President Vladimir Putin of donating $51 to a charity that supported Ukraine.
In January 2024, Karelina was detained while visiting her family in the city of Yekaterinburg. The ballerina is a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and it was revealed that she donated to a Ukrainian foundation just two days before Russia initiated its war with Ukraine.
She was charged with transferring “funds in the interests of a Ukrainian organization, which were subsequently used for the purchase of tactical medicine items, equipment, means of defeat and ammunition by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
When Karelina arrived back on U.S. soil, she was met by her fiancé, professional boxer Chris van Heerden, as well as Morgan Ortagus, who is Trump’s deputy peace envoy to the Middle East.
“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” van Heerden said at the time.
“She has endured a nightmare for 15 months, and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return.”
“I was begging the Biden administration for a whole year to bring Ksenia back. About seven months I realized that’s not going to happen. They’re not going to do it for me. I had faith and I truly believed when President Trump came into power, he could do it and he did it,” he added.
At the time of the negotiations, Trump gave credit to UFC President Dana White for bringing the ballerina’s case to his attention.
“They released the young ballerina and she is now out, and that was good. So we appreciate that,” the 47th president said the day of her release.
Under the Trump administration, Karelina became the second U.S. citizen freed from Russian captivity. In February, teacher Marc Fogel was released after being sentenced to 14 years in a Russian penal colony after his arrest of what he claimed was legally prescribed marijuana.
Karelina was exchanged for Arthur Petrov, a Russian-German dual citizen, who was arrested in 2023 for smuggling sensitive microelectronics to the Russian military.
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