LOS ANGELES, CA — Russian authorities on Tuesday said they arrested a 33-year-old Los Angeles woman in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg, accusing the dual Russian-U.S. citizen of committing treason by raising money for Ukraine.
Russia’s Federal Security Service did not identify the woman by name in a statement it released about the arrest. But a Russian legal defense group identified her as Ksenia (Karelina) Khavana, with Karelina likely being her maiden name, the New York Times reported.
The Security Service claims the woman raised money for a Ukrainian organization that bought weapons and other equipment for Ukraine’s military. The Russian legal defense group, Perviy Otdel, told the New York Times that the woman is being accused of treason for sending about $50 to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based nonprofit that sends assistance to the country.
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Khavana obtained U.S. citizenship in 2021 when she married an American. A ballet dancer, Khavana’s social media pages indicate she received her dance training at the S.P. Diaghilev school in Yekaterinburg in Russia, graduated from Ural Federal University then began dancing in Baltimore in 2014.
According to her LinkedIn page, she has been a manager at Ciel Spa Beverly Hills at the SLS Hotel since 2019.
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White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that federal officials are “trying to get more information” about the woman’s arrest. He also warned Americans “about the danger posed to U.S. citizens inside Russia,” urging American citizens to leave the country.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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