An American citizen has been arrested by Russian intelligence. The accusation? Having donated an amount equal to 51.8 US dollars in 2022 to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based organization that provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The FSB reports that the woman participated in pro-Ukrainian protests on American soil. The arrest took place in Yekaterinburg, in central Russia, and he faces a 20-year prison sentence for “treason”. The reason is simple: the woman, identified as Ksenia Karelina Khavana, has dual American and Russian nationality. Currently, Russian authorities refuse consular assistance to American citizens because they believe they do not recognize it.
American citizen since 2021
Ksenia has lived in the United States for at least ten years, where she obtained citizenship in 2021. A resident of Los Angeles, she had traveled to Russia to visit her ninety-year-old grandmother, as reports Isabella Koretz, president of Sky Spa of Beverly Hills, in a company statement in support of its employee on Instagram. Mykola Murskyj, president of the non-profit organization Razom for Ukraine, rejected the FSB's accusations regarding the alleged delivery of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine: “This is nonsense. We provide emergency supplies to Ukrainian soldiers and those fighting for Ukrainian independence, but never weapons or ammunition.”
Different treatment compared to American journalists
The story of Ksenia Karelina Khavana was reported by independent Russian media as follows: Meduza And Media Zone. The latter had succeeded in obtaining and making known the identity of the woman, initially kept secret by the FSB. He also talked about it New York Timesrepeating the statements of the president of Razom for Ukraine and those of the spokesperson for the US State Department Miller, who maintains that at present Ksenia cannot be considered “unjustly detained” like the American journalists Gershkovich and Whelan.
The donation and control of the Russian FSB
The donation would have been made in February 2022. As reported Media Zoneit is unclear how the FSB became aware of the transaction of Ksenia's American account with the non-profit organization Razom for Ukraine, founded after the 2014 revolution. Another detail provided by Mediazona concerns the alleged date of the don, February 24, 2022. , coinciding with the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Read also:
