In a high-profile prisoner swap between the United States and Russia, American citizen Ksenia Karelina has been released and is now en route back to the U.S. Karelina, who had been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year, was freed as part of a deal that also saw the release of Artur Petrov—a dual German-Russian national arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of U.S. authorities. Petrov was accused of illegally exporting sensitive microelectronics.
“American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a post on X. He added that Trump “will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.”
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the exchange, said the swap took place at Abu Dhabi Airport and was arranged through behind-the-scenes negotiations led by intelligence agencies. According to the Journal, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official were directly involved in coordinating the deal.
Russia’s Federal Security Service later confirmed the exchange had taken place.
This marks the second prisoner swap between Washington and Moscow since President Trump took office earlier this year. In February, the U.S. successfully negotiated the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel—formerly detained in Russia on drug-related charges—in exchange for Russian businessman Alexander Vinnik.
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