Ballerina Ksenia Karelina meets President Trump after 15 months in Russian captivity PHOTO

President Donald Trump formally welcomed Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina back to the United States on May 5 following her release from Russian detention, marking the moment with a meeting at the White House.

“It’s my honour to meet you today,” Karelina, 33, told Trump during a brief exchange in the Oval Office, a moment captured on video by Trump communications adviser Margo Martin and shared on social media, Caliber.Az reports via American media.

The meeting was closed to the press.

“Congratulations,” Trump said while shaking Karelina’s hand. “Now I know why you fought so hard to get her out of jail,” he added, addressing someone out of frame. Karelina, placing a hand over her heart, replied, “Thank you so much,” to which Trump responded, “It’s a great honour.”

Karelina, a dual US-Russian citizen and Los Angeles resident, returned to the United States last month following a prisoner swap secured by the Trump administration. She had spent 15 months in Russian custody after being accused of treason for donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

She was arrested in January 2024 while visiting her family in Yekaterinburg. Russian authorities accused her of transferring funds to a Ukrainian organisation that allegedly used the money for purchasing tactical medical supplies, equipment, and ammunition for the Ukrainian military. She was facing up to 12 years in a penal colony.

Upon her arrival back in the US, Karelina was reunited with her fiancé, professional boxer Chris van Heerden, and welcomed by Morgan Ortagus, Trump’s deputy peace envoy to the Middle East.

“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina, is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” van Heerden said at the time. “She has endured a nightmare for 15 months, and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return.”

Trump had earlier credited UFC President Dana White with first bringing Karelina’s case to his attention. “They released the young ballerina and she is now out, and that was good. So we appreciate that,” Trump said on the day of her release.

Karelina was exchanged for Arthur Petrov, a Russian-German dual citizen arrested in 2023 in the US on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia.

She is the second American to be freed from Russian captivity under the Trump administration. In February, Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel—previously sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison for possession of what he said was legally prescribed marijuana—was also released.

By Tamilla Hasanova