Russia Detains Los Angeles Woman, Accuses Her Of Treason

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested a U.S.-Russian dual citizen in the city of Yekaterinburg, accusing her of treason for collecting funds for Ukrainian organizations.

The independent Russian news website Mediazona identified the woman as 33-year-old Ksenia Karelina, a Los Angeles resident who is believed to have obtained American citizenship in 2021.

The FSB also accused Karelina of participating in “public actions in support of” Ukraine while in the U.S. ― an act Russian President Vladimir Putin criminalized after Russia invaded Ukraine, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Video of Karelina’s detention shared by the state news agency RIA Novosti shows a blindfolded woman being led down a series of stairs by an officer in camouflage fatigues.

Another scene shows her being handcuffed and placed in the back of a car, then standing silently, with her face blurred out, in what appears to be a courtroom.

Karelina allegedly transferred just under $52 to “Razom for Ukraine,” a nonprofit Ukrainian group, last February, according to case materials obtained by Mediazona.

The FSB appeared to reference the transfer in a statement accusing her of treason, which carries a maximum sentence of life in jail.

“Since February 2022, she has been proactively collecting funds in the interests of a Ukrainian organization, which were subsequently directed by the Ukrainian armed forces toward the acquisition of tactical medical items, equipment and ammunition,” the FSB claimed.

“Based on the available facts, the investigative unit of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Sverdlovsk Region has opened and is investigating a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Art. 275 of the Criminal Code of Russia