Top Republican vows to do ‘everything’ he can to support arrested American ballerina Ksenia Karelina behind bars in Russia and condemns Putin for using ‘any means necessary’ to ‘silence other opinions’
The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said he is doing everything he can to find out more details about the arrest of Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina.
Karelina, a US citizen, was arrested in January by Vladimir Putin’s notorious Federal Security Service (FSB) on charges of treason, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Video from a Russian news channel shows the 32-year-old ballerina being led blindfolded into a courtroom, although it is unclear when the video was shot.
“Reports of the recent arrest of Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina on charges of high treason are concerning,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Jim Risch told DailyMail.com in an exclusive statement.
“Putin is so afraid that the Russian people will know the truth about his brutal and unprovoked war against Ukraine that he is willing to use any means necessary to silence dissent,” the Idaho Republican said .
“I will do everything I can to uncover the details of Ms. Karelina’s arrest and ensure that the United States supports her during this dangerous time,” the senator continued.
A statement from Russian officials refers to Karelina as a resident of Los Angeles
She is specifically accused of transferring $51.80 from a US bank account to the Ukrainian charity Razom
Vladimir Putin’s secret security forces, the FSB, arrested 32-year-old Russian-American Ksenia Karelina on charges of treason, officials confirmed Tuesday. She appeared in court blindfolded
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told DailyMail.com that he is working on more information about Karelina’s arrest
The American ballerina is accused of treason in Russia for sending just $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity. She faces twenty years in prison.
According to her close friend and employer Isabella Koretz, Karelina, who works at a spa in Beverly Hills, California, traveled to Russia on January 2 to visit her family.
She was immediately arrested after landing in Moscow, “interrogated for 13 hours” and placed in a freezing prison cell with two other women, Koretz told DailyMail.com exclusively.
“She’s not a politician, she’s an esthetician,” says Koretz, 47, who runs Ciel Spa in Beverly Hills. “She’s just a super sweet person and wanted to help.”
‘She flew from Istanbul to Russia. And she was arrested immediately upon arrival.”
‘They arrested her, held her there and interrogated her for thirteen hours. Then they let her go, but they took her back and forth to jail.”
Koretz told DailyMail.com that after the Karelina did not return from her trip after two weeks, she learned that the ballerina had been arrested.
“In one of the last arrests before she was put in jail, they asked her to come out to a public square and said they wanted to talk to her about something. Then several agencies, including the FSB, publicly arrested her,” the spa president said.
“Every time she appears in court, the judge extends her sentence.”
Karelina is accused of fundraising for a pro-Ukrainian charity. She posted this photo when she was granted US citizenship in 2021
On her Facebook page, Karelina says she is from Yekaterinburg, Russia, and that she studied ballet at the SP Diaghilev School
Treason charges carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years
The White House is also trying to find out more about Karelina’s arrest.
“We are trying to get more information and secure some consular access to that individual,” White House spokesman John Kirby told DailyMail.com in a briefing on Tuesday.
He also warned every US citizen, including those with dual Russian citizenship, to leave the country immediately.
“I want to reiterate our very strong warnings about the danger posed to American citizens in Russia. So if you are a U.S. citizen, including dual nationals living or traveling in Russia, you should leave right now.”
“It goes without saying that if you are a US citizen or have a US passport, and you have not traveled to Russia, but you are considering going, which of course I urge you not to do,” he added.
The dancer is accused of “proactively raising funds in the interest of a Ukrainian organization since February 2022, which was then used to purchase tactical medicines, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the FSB alleges.
“In addition, during his stay in the United States, the citizen in question repeatedly participated in public actions in support of the Kiev regime,” the agency said. The Moscow Times.
Karelina is the latest American behind bars in Russia, joining Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Texan father David Barnes, 65, who was sentenced last week in Moscow to 21 years in prison on child abuse charges.
On the same day that Karelina’s arrest was announced, Gershkovich appeared in court in Moscow, where his pre-trial detention was extended.