Russia arrests dual citizen on treason

Russia’s main security agency said on Tuesday that it had arrested a dual citizen of Russia and the United States on accusations of committing state treason by raising funds for Ukraine.

The Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, identified the detainee as a 33-year-old woman who lives in Los Angeles. It said in a statement that she had raised money for a Ukrainian organization that bought weapons and other equipment for Ukraine’s military.

Perviy Otdel, a group of Russian lawyers who specialize in cases involving accusations of treason and other politically charged allegations, said that the woman had been accused of treason for sending just over $50 to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based nonprofit organization that sends assistance to the country.

The FSB said she had been arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg in central Russia. RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, published a video that it said showed the woman, wearing a white hat that covered her eyes, being handcuffed and escorted by masked security service officers.

If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.

A Russian news outlet, Media Zona, identified the detainee as Ksenia Karelina. Perviy Otdel, the legal group, identified her as Ksenia (Karelina) Khavana, with Karelina most likely being her maiden name. Perviy Otdel said she was arrested at the end of January and accused of treason on Feb. 7.

According to Karelina’s profile on VK, a Russian social network, she received U.S. citizenship in 2021. Her profile, which identified her as a student at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, said that she had graduated from Urals Federal University in Yekaterinburg in 2014.