L.A. ballerina sentenced to 12 years in Russian penal colony for Ukraine donation

A Russian court has sentenced a U.S.-Russian ballerina to 12 years in a penal colony for “high treason” after she allegedly transferred funds to a Ukrainian charity in Feb. 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country.

Los Angeles-based Ksenia Karelina was visiting family in Russia when investigators searched her phone and found that she had donated funds to a Ukrainian charity. According to a statement posted on Facebook by a spa where she previously worked, Karelina gifted $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in the U.S.

Authorities have not confirmed that figure and NBC News was not able to independently verify the sum or the nature of the alleged donation. 

The 33-year-old ballerina’s sentencing is the latest in a series of detentions of citizens of Western nations in Russia and comes against the backdrop of Russia’s two-and-a-half-year-long war with Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government has cracked down on dissent since the war began and any perceived criticism of the military is banned.

Earlier this month, Russia released four U.S. residents including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American corporate security executive Paul Whelan in the largest prisoner exchange since the end of the cold war.

Karelina’s defense lawyer, Mikhai Mushailov, said they would appeal the sentence and that he would be taking “all legally significant actions” to work toward a prisoner swap.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Karelina’s donation “was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces.”

The 33-year-old “fully admitted her guilt” at a closed trial in the city of Yekaterinberg, in southwestern Russia on Wednesday, according to a press release by the Sverdlovsky Region Court.

Mushailov added that Karelina “did not presume” that her money would be redirected for anti-Russian actions.

Her sentence is accompanied by a fine of 300,000 Rubles ($3,361) and the verdict will come into force in 15 days unless appealed by the parties.

Karelina was born in Russia but was a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, having come to the U.S. to study at the University of Maryland in Baltimore before relocating to Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press.