Ksenia Karelina, a former ballerina turned esthetician in Beverly Hills, was detained in Yekaterinburg because she financially supported Ukraine’s army. This comes after Karelina traveled to Russia to see her grandmother on January 2. Her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, spoke out about the situation, saying that Karelina was detained at the airport and then eventually released, but kept her mobile phone. The FSB alleged that Karelina was collecting funds for the Ukrainian army, but did not provide details or evidence of her alleged crime.
Despite Karelina’s claim that she was simply visiting her grandmother, the FSB alleges that she had been “proactively collected funds in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations.” The State Department has said it is seeking consular assistance in Karelina’s case, but it is complicated to gain access to dual Russian and US citizens. A video released by the FSB shows a woman, believed to be Karelina, being detained and handcuffed. Karelina is now facing charges of treason, punishable by up to 20 years in prison while the hearing for Karelina on Feb. 20 has been postponed to Feb. 29.
Ksenia Karelina, who became a U.S. citizen in 2021, moved to Los Angeles to work as an esthetician in a spa but previously studied at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. This case has drawn attention due to the growing number of detentions of U.S. citizens in Russia, causing unrest among foreign citizens residing in the country.
