(NewsNation) — Russia’s Federal Security Service said a 33-year-old woman with dual citizenship in the United States has been arrested for allegedly raising money to support Ukraine.
Officials did not identify the woman in the statement but said she is a Los Angeles resident. The Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB, is now investigating her for treason.
A statement by the security service said the woman was involved in “providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of our country.”
“Since February 2022, she has proactively collected funds in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations, which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the statement said. “In addition, in the United States, this citizen repeatedly took part in public actions in support of the Kyiv regime.”
Saturday marks two years since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, starting a war that has devastated the latter country.
A Russian news outlet is identifying the woman as Ksenia Karelina. Others said her name was Ksenia (Karelina) Khavana. She attended University of Maryland in Baltimore, and graduated from a university in Russia in 2014, according to her Russian social media profile.
Karelina received U.S. citizenship in 2021. She was detained at the end of January in Yekaterinburg, Russia — the same city where Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was taken into custody last year on espionage charges.
A White House official told NewsNation the Biden administration and the State Department are aware of reports that a dual citizen was detained in Russia.
“We are working to obtain more information and secure consular access to the individual,” the official said.
A group of Russian lawyers who specialize in cases involving accusations of treason say the woman had been accused of treason for sending just over $50 to Ukraine through a New York-based non-profit organization called Razom.
Eleonora Srebroski, Karelina’s former mother-in-law, in an interview with NewsNation’s Nancy Loo, called her a kind person. Karelina, Srebroski said, had gone to relatives to visit Russia at the time of her arrest. That had surprised Srebroski.
“We all know it’s not safe to go there anymore,” she told NewsNation.
Although Srebroski is also from Russia, she does not support the “regime” right now. Srebroski only feels comfortable saying that, though, because “I am safe here in the United States.”
The CEO of Ciel Spa, where Karelina works, told NewsNation’s local affiliate KTLA that they heard about her arrest when she failed to show up for work in mid-January.
“We’re a very close-knit team at work. Everybody is missing her. Everybody loves her,” CEO Isabella Koretz said. “We can’t wait to see her back.”
This story is developing. Refresh for updates.
