Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony and fined three hundred thousand rubles ($3,400) in a closed session of the Sverdlovsk Regional Court. 

Karelina was arrested on January 27 2024, and detained in a Yekaterinburg jail under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code which covers treason. Specifically, she was charged with rendering assistance to a foreign state or organization in hostile activities to the detriment of the external security of the Russian Federation, committed by a citizen of Russia, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in a penal colony. This comes as the Russo-Ukrainian war enters its second year. 

According to prosecutors, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) uncovered that Karelina had raised funds for a Ukrainian organization that supports the Armed Forces of Ukraine, elements of which, including the far right ‘Azov’ regiment and the nationalist ‘Georgian Legion’ have been designated as a terrorist organization and is banned in Russia. A group of Russian lawyers, Pervy Otdel, also indicated that Karelina had donated over $50 from her US bank account on the day that Russia began its operations in Ukraine. The money was allegedly sent to Razom for Ukraine, which denied that it had provided any support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, Razom’s ‘Razom Heroes’ program states on its website that it aims to provide ‘life-saving aid to the first responders and front-line medics’ and features photos of military-style tactical equipment. On the official website of Ukraine, Razom is recognized for providing ‘tactical medical items.’

Karelina was not included in the recent Russia-US prisoner swap, which was the largest prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow since the Cold War.