A Russian American lady who donated money to Ukraine is put on trial for treason

On Thursday, a Russian American lady who was detained earlier this year while on a visitation with family in Russia was put on trial for treason after the prosecution said she was soliciting donations for the Ukrainian army.

If proven guilty, Karelina, a Russian native who immigrated to the United States more than ten years ago, may receive a sentence ranging from 12 years to life in prison. Karelina had made a new life for herself as an aesthetician at a Los Angeles spa.

As is typical in similar cases in Russia, her trial will take place in private. There are not many acquittals for treason.

A brief video of Karelina, dressed in denim pants and a green checkered top, sitting in a glass cage was released by the Yekaterinburg court in the Urals. A slight smile crossed her lips as photographers took pictures.

The trial was postponed until August 7 according to a notification that was later on Thursday placed on the court’s website. It gave no explanation.

There are presently twelve or more Americans serving jail sentences in Russia; they are among the increasing number of foreign people entangled in the crisis of relations between Moscow and Washington amidst the conflict in Ukraine.

Karelina was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in January while she was in Yekaterinburg visiting her parents and younger sister.

Eleonora Srebroski, her ex-mom-in-law, revealed to Reuters in February that Karelina had returned home around the new year after receiving a plane ticket as a surprise from her lover.

Srebroski claims that she had told her lover that traveling to Russia was “safe” and that he had no cause to be afraid of her.

Karelina was first taken into custody under a small “petty hooliganism” statute, but she was subsequently accused of treason.

Karelina, according to Srebroski, gave a tiny payment to Razom for Ukraine, a nonprofit organization based in New York that provides non-combative aid to the nation that Moscow claims was invaded by Russian forces in 2022.

The early-thirties Karelina came to the United States in 2012 under a work-study program, and she briefly wed Srebroski’s son. According to her ex-husband, she was an enjoyable person who didn’t give politics any thought.
Without any political overtones, Karelina’s social media accounts are filled with pictures of her and her pals traveling and having fun at the beach.

A November 2021 snapshot of her with the caption “Citizenship” features her happy while wearing a long dress and waving a small American flag.