US exchanges prisoners with Russia

Ksenia Karelin at a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Photo: Reuters

Russia and the United States have exchanged prisoners in Abu Dhabi.

This was reported by The Wall Street Journal.

It is noted that Russia released Ksenia Karelin, who donated less than $100 to an American charity to help Ukraine. She was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security prison for treason.

In return, the US released Artur Petrov, who was arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of the US. It was believed that Artur Petrov used a Cypriot company to purchase small amounts of microelectronics from American companies for use in fire safety systems. In reality, however, he was supplying them to the Russian army through a company in St Petersburg.

«This exchange demonstrates the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep problems in our bilateral relationship. While we are disappointed that other Americans continue to be illegally detained in Russia, we view this exchange as a positive step and will continue to work for their release», the CIA said.

As a reminder, in August 2024, Russia released American journalist Evan Hershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan as part of an international prisoner exchange.

It was also reported that the United States is discussing the possibility of returning Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken to Russia as one of the key steps to build trust between the parties.