Russia sentences Russian American ballerina Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in jail for treason
The Russian-American ballerina who was accused of treason against the Kremlin for donating less than $52 to a charity allegedly supporting Ukraine has been sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Ksenia Karelina, 33, of Los Angeles, appeared calm behind a glass courtroom cage on Thursday as she heard the sentence in what American officials described as “vindictive cruelty.”
The court claimed Karelina had – on the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 – “transferred funds in the interests of a Ukrainian organization, which were subsequently used for the purchase of tactical medicine items, equipment, means of defeat and ammunition by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
Her supporters maintain that Karelina, who was enjoying life in LA as a spa worker, had donated $51.80 to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based charity that provides humanitarian aid to children and elderly people in Ukraine.
Despite Russia’s allegations, the charity has denied providing any military support to Kyiv.
John Kirby, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, slammed the sentence as “ludicrous.”
“I think the way we would describe this sentence of 12 years is vindictive cruelty,” Kirby told reporters in a briefing Thursday.
“We’re talking about 50 bucks to try to alleviate the suffering of people and to call that treason is just absolutely ludicrous,” he added.
Karelina, a Russian native who emigrated to the US in 2012 and acquired citizenship, was arrested at the start of the year after flying to Russia to visit family in Yekaterinburg.
The sentence came after Karelina pleaded guilty to the treason charges during her closed trial back in July, the same day as Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s “sham trial.”
Her lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, has said he hopes Kareilna could be included in a future prisoner exchange like that one that saw Gershkovich freed earlier this month.
“An exchange is impossible until the court verdict comes into force,” he told reporters. “After the verdict, of course, we will work in this direction.”
With Post wires
