Vladimir Putin, using his secretive Federal Security Service, has arrested Ksenia Karelina, 32, who became a United States citizen in 2021.
A video has been posted by a Russian news agency showing the 32-year-old ballerina handcuffed and blindfolded.
Karelina has lived in the United States since 2013 and most recently resided in the Los Angeles area when she became a United States citizen and she is married to an American man. According to multiple reports, she was a Russian ballerina who came to the United States to work as a dancer.
The ballerina was arrested outside a movie theater in Yekaterinburg, her hometown, initially over a swearing offense.
After her initial arrest, Karelina was then charged with fundraising for Ukraine. She is accused of donating $51.80 to a Ukraine-supporting charity.
“The White House and State Department are aware of reports that a dual U.S.-Russia citizen has been detained in Russia. We are working to obtain more information and secure consular access to the individual,” a White House official said.
The ballerina’s social media account seemed to indicate that she loved living in the United States.
From the Daily Beast:
The woman’s arrest is just the latest of an American citizen inside Russia. In addition to Gershkovich, who was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva—a dual U.S.-Russian citizen—was also detained last year and accused of failing to register as a foreign agent. She has been in prison since October.
A Moscow court on Tuesday rejected Gershkovich’s appeal against the latest extension of his pre-trial detention, meaning he’ll remain behind bars until at least March 30—over a year since his arrest. The U.S. government considers him wrongfully detained, while the Journal has also vehemently denied the spying allegations against him.
The Daily Mail did obtain footage of Karelina being led from a courtroom into a car.
You can add the ballerina to a long list of Americans Biden has left behind and the second to be captured in Russia. Additionally, Biden has failed to take a hard stance in getting back American hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack in Israel.
