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The United States and Russia exchanged prisoners in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, as Washington and Moscow move toward a diplomatic rapprochement.
Russia released Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American citizen who was convicted in Russia of donating a small amount to a U.S.-based Ukrainian charity and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Karelina, a former ballerina, became a US citizen in 2021 after marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles.
In exchange, the US released Artur Petrov, a German-Russian citizen, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of US authorities for exporting sensitive microelectronics.
"American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane returning to the United States. She was wrongly detained by Russia for more than a year, and President Trump secured her release," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday, adding that Trump "will continue to work for the release of all Americans."
According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, the exchange took place at Abu Dhabi airport as part of a deal brokered by intelligence agencies.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official held talks about the swap, the Journal reported, citing a CIA official.
Russia's Federal Security Service confirmed the prisoner exchange later on Thursday.
Thursday's exchange marks the second such case between Washington and Moscow since Trump took office earlier this year. In February, the US secured the release of Marc Fogel, a school teacher previously detained in Russia on drug charges, in exchange for Russian entrepreneur Alexander Vinnik.
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