Ksenia Karelina, a dual citizen of the United States and Russia, was excited to return to her hometown in Russia to see her grandparents, but was arrested and now faces treason charges for allegedly donating $51 (R $251) to a Ukrainian charity, her boyfriend told CNN.
Chris Van Heerden pointed out that he never thought this would happen. The couple, who lived in Los Angeles, flew together to Istanbul before Karelina headed to Russia to see her family. Van Heerden caught a flight back to California.
He explained to CNN that Karelina was detained but released when she entered the country. Later, on the day she was supposed to return to the States, she told him she was relieved they were letting her go home – but that was the last I heard from her girlfriend.
“I believe in America. I believe that America will bring her back to me and that's the hope I have,” Van Heerden said, adding that she has never spoken about any donations, that she is “very proud to be Russian” and that she has “never intervened in anything about the war” in Ukraine.
The boyfriend also said that she wrote him a letter after being arrested. In the letter, which he calls a “love story,” Karelina describes the conditions and expresses her concern for Van Heerden.
He stressed that his attitude about what will happen varies from day to day. Some days she is strong and feels like she will get home soon.
But on other days, she wrote to him that, “It's like I'm going to sit in my bed and stare at the wall for hours, like, knowing I'm going to be here forever,” because that's what she's thinking.
Source: CNN Brasil
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