Boyfriend of US Citizen Imprisoned in Russia for Ukrainian Charity Donation Says ‘She’s Giving Up'

Ksenia Karelina, a ballerina with dual American-Russian citizenship, was put behind bars in Russia. Her loved ones are desperate for her release, including her boyfriend, who spoke with Inside Edition.

Chris Van Heerden, a professional boxer, says he and Karelina were on vacation together in Turkey. From there Karelina went on to visit her family in Russia. 

“I said, ‘I don’t think this is a good idea,’” Van Heerden says. “She was naive, she felt safe. She said, ‘I am safe. I am Russian.’”

When Karelina landed in Russia, Van Heerden says she was detained at the airport.

“They questioned her for at least 12 hours,” Van Heerden says. “They took her phone and held onto the phone and said to her, ‘You can go but we’re going to further investigate.’”

When Karelina returned to retrieve her phone, she was arrested and charged with treason. Van Heerden believes they found information on her phone that she had donated $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity, a crime that carries a sentence of 20 years in prison.

Van Heerden says Karelina emailed him after being arrested. 

“I’m so sorry that you have to go through this now. I’m so, so sorry,” Karelina’s message said.

The message left Van Heerden heartbroken.

“She’s apologizing to me, for putting me through all of this,” he says. “She told me to give away her clothes to her friends. That’s telling me she’s losing hope, she’s giving up, and that breaks my heart.”

The U.S. State Department says diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow are working to gain access to Karelina but it has been difficult because Russian authorities view her as a Russian national, not an American.

Meanwhile, U.S. relations with Russia are at a dire stage, with President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin trading insults.

At a fundraiser in San Francisco, Biden called Putin a “Crazy S.O.B.”

A top Putin aid hit back, labeling Biden a “Hollywood Cowboy.”

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