Ksenia Karelina, a Russian American dancer who was jailed by a Moscow court for donating to a Ukrainian charity.

is on her way back to the US.

In return, the Americans have released a Russian German national Arthur Petrov.

The prisoner.

Swap took place.

in Abu Dhabi early on Thursday.

Well, to get more on that story, let's go live to Moscow and speak to our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg.

So Steve, um.

What's all this about?

Well, interestingly, a short while ago, the Kremlin declined to comment on these reports, but the FSB, Russia's domestic security service, issued a statement basically confirming it.

So what do we know?

This prisoner swap.

Um, uh, two people are involved.

So the Russians have released Ksenia Karelina, who is a Russia US dual national, um, she's a resident of Los Angeles.

Um, an amateur ballerina.

Last year she came back to Russia to visit family.

She was arrested, uh, she was convicted of treason.

Uh, her crime being that she donated around $50 to a US based charity that supports Ukraine.

And she was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony.

So she's been freed.

The Russians have freed, uh, a Russian German dual national Arthur Petrov.

Uh, he was arrested on Cyprus in 2023 at the request of the Americans.

He was extradited to America.

Uh, he was accused of conspiring to ship, um, sensitive US microelectronics, uh, to Russia.

So he's been freed, uh, by the Americans.

Um, and, um, I think this adds to the the the the desire by both Moscow and Washington to kind of boost relations.

improve the atmosphere between Russia and America, there are talks going on today in Istanbul, uh, diplomatic talks about, uh, improving the functioning of, uh, diplomatic missions, Russian and American.

So you can see where this is leading, uh, even though there's been very little progress in terms of ending the war in Ukraine, US and Russia, I think determined to do what they can to improve their bilateral relations right now.

Indeed, because this is the second prisoner swap between the two nations in as many months, isn't it, Steve?

Yeah, absolutely, since Donald Trump, uh.

return to the White House, the second such prisoner swap.

I think it was in February, wasn't it, that we saw, um, the, uh, the American teacher Mark Fogel, who'd been in prison in Russia on drugs charges.

He was released, Alexander Vinnick, um, uh, who had been accused of cyber crime.

I think or convicted of cyber crime in America.

He was, he came back to Russia.

Um, I mean it's quite interesting, you know, as I say, this is all about improving relations between Russia and America.

And yet, you do get the sense that Donald Trump has become frustrated at the lack of progress in terms of ending the war in Ukraine.

Um, he's expressed frustration about what Russia's doing, the continued bombing.

And also there's been a sense of frustration, uh, here in Russia with Donald Trump.

Some of the headlines actually.

in the Russian papers in the last few days have been quite incredible, I mean, there was one paper a couple of days ago that accused the Trump administration of administrative insanity.

One paper yesterday, uh, said that Donald Trump was conducting affairs chaotically and throwing pieces of complex jigsaw puzzles up in the air, hoping that when they come down on the ground.

that they form some kind of rational picture.

So those are the kind of things that the Russian papers have been writing about Donald Trump, and yet, we see from the talks in Istanbul, we see from the prisoner exchange that still Moscow and Washington, uh, seem committed to improving bilateral relations.

Uh, no matter what happens, uh, with the the war in Ukraine.

Yeah, it's really interesting.

As always, we love to have you on.

Steve Rosenberg, our Russia editor.