The United Arab Emirates (UAE) helped to arrange a prisoner swap between the US and Russian government on April 10th (Today) 2025 in Abu Dhabi. The swap allowed for the release of Ksenia Karelina, a 34 year old dual US-Russian citizen, amateur ballerina who is a resident of Los Angeles and Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen accused of specifically supplying unauthorized microelectronics to the Russian military. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has announced the successful completion of mediation efforts in a prisoner exchange between the United States and the Russian Federation.
Prisoners Details:
In February 2024 Karelina was detained in Russia during visiting her grandparents in Yekaterinburg. Karelina was accused of treason after talking her mother into donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in the US that Russian authorities claimed was delivering weapons to Ukraine. Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony for the crime. Karelina’s detainment was deemed wrongfully carried out by US officials.
In turn, the US released Petrov who was arrested in 2023 for allegedly leading a global smuggling operation that supplied sensitive US electronics to the Russian military. He was facing a possible 20 year sentence before being sent back home via Abu Dhabi.
UAE As A Bridge:
The negotiation for the swap was a high level intelligence negotiation between CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Russia’s SVR head Sergei Naryshkin. Although the relations between US and Russia may be thawing slightly, this is the third significant prisoner swap with UAE being the center of the peace talk.
The Ministry thanked the governments of the United States and the Russian Federation for placing their trust in the UAE and choosing Abu Dhabi as the location for the prisoner exchange process which was carried out in collaboration between the two countries.
Furthermore, the Ministry emphasized that choosing Abu Dhabi for the prisoner exchange process reflects both country’s close friendship with the UAE and expressed hope that these efforts will lead to de-escalation of tensions and improved dialogue and understanding, resulting in regional and international security and stability.
