Russia Jails American Woman for 12 Years Over $50 Donation to Ukraine Charity

A Russian court sentenced Russian-American dual national Ksenia Karelina to 12 years in prison for treason Thursday after she donated $50 to a Ukrainian-American charity.

Karelina, a 33-year old former ballerina who was living in Los Angeles and became a U.S. citizen in 2021, was first detained in February while visiting relatives in Yekaterinburg, the central Russian city where she’s from.

Russia’s lead security agency, the FSB, alleged Karelina “collected money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations, which was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” according to the exiled, independent Russian-language news publication Meduza.

Read more at The Daily Beast.