President Trump on Thursday credited UFC CEO Dana White with alerting him to the plight of Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who was imprisoned by Moscow for treason.
Ms. Karelina was released Thursday in a prisoner swap for a Russian German man jailed on smuggling charges in the U.S.
“I appreciate the ballerina who was released, that was at the request of a very good friend of all of ours, actually,” Mr. Trump said at a Cabinet meeting. “Dana White called me, and he said it’s the friend or the relationship of one of the fighters, or UFC, or one of the fighters, and Dana is an incredible guy.”
This was the second prisoner swap deal between the Trump administration and Russia. In February, American teacher Marc Fogel was swapped for Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert.
Ms. Karelina was detained for treason charges after donating $51 to a charity that allegedly supported Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2002, the same day Russia attacked its neighbor.
She was arrested in January 2024 while on a month-long visit to her family in Yekaterinburg. In August, she was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Professional boxer Chris Van Heerden is the fiance of Ms. Karelina.
“We spoke to President Putin about it, and they made a deal. They released the young ballerina, and she is now out, and that was good. So we appreciate that. We hope that we’re going to be able to make a deal relatively soon with Russia and Ukraine to stop the fighting,” Mr. Trump said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that Ms. Karelina was “wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.”
