The main security agency of Russia announced on Tuesday the arrest of a dual citizen of Russia and the United States on charges of state treason for fundraising for Ukraine.
The detainee, a 33-year-old woman residing in Los Angeles, was identified by the Federal Security Service (F.S.B.). The agency stated that she had collected funds for a Ukrainian organization that purchased weapons and equipment for Ukraine’s military.
Perviy Otdel, a group of Russian lawyers specializing in cases involving treason accusations, stated that the woman was charged with treason for sending slightly over $50 to Razom for Ukraine, a nonprofit organization based in New York that provides aid to the country.
The F.S.B. reported her arrest in Yekaterinburg, central Russia. RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, released a video showing the woman, wearing a white hat covering her eyes, being handcuffed and escorted by masked security officers.
If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.
Recent detentions of American citizens in Russia have raised concerns that they may be viewed as bargaining chips for high-profile Russians held in Western countries.
On the same day as the woman’s arrest, a Moscow court denied an appeal by Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist for The Wall Street Journal, who was arrested last spring on espionage charges. The court ruled that Mr. Gershkovich must remain in pretrial detention until at least the end of March.
The United States requested consular assistance for the woman, but it has not been granted yet. Russia does not officially recognize dual citizenship and considers such individuals as Russian citizens primarily.
The detainee was identified by a Russian news outlet as Ksenia Karelina, while Perviy Otdel referred to her as Ksenia (Karelina) Khavana. She was arrested at the end of January and accused of treason on February 7.
According to her profile on the Russian social network VK, she obtained U.S. citizenship in 2021 and was a student at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, having graduated from Urals Federal University in Yekaterinburg in 2014.
In an interview at her Maryland home, the former mother-in-law of Ms. Karelina, Eleanora Srebroski, shared details of her background. Ms. Karelina, who grew up in Yekaterinburg, came to the U.S. for a work-study program and later worked in Los Angeles as an aesthetician and spa manager.
Isabella Koretz, the president of Ciel Spa in Beverly Hills, confirmed Ms. Khavana’s employment at the spa for eight years. The spa released a statement expressing shock at her arrest in Russia for allegedly donating a small amount to a Ukrainian charity in the U.S.
Mrs. Srebroski described Ms. Karelina as a compassionate person who likely supported Ukraine. Mykola Murskyj, from Razom for Ukraine, expressed concern over her arrest but clarified that the organization provides humanitarian aid, not weapons, to Ukrainian soldiers.
The State Department declined to speculate on the woman’s status but highlighted the growing number of state treason cases in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. A court in Yekaterinburg was set to hear an appeal by the woman accused of treason.
Michael Crowley, Kitty Bennett, JoAnna Daemmrich, Rachel Parsons, and Amanda E. Newman contributed to this report.
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