‘Never Felt More Blessed’: Freed Hostage Praises Trump For Successfully Securing Her Release

Ksenia Karelina, an American citizen detained in Russia, praised President Donald Trump for securing her release from captivity in footage released Friday.

Karelina, a 33-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Russia, was convicted of treason and sentenced to 12-years in prison in August 2024 for making a $51 donation to a nonprofit group that sends assistance to Ukraine. After arriving back in the U.S., she said she was “grateful” for Trump’s leadership and that she had “never felt more blessed to be American.”

“Mr. Trump, I’m so, so grateful for you to bring me home and for the American government. I’ve never felt more blessed to be American and I’m so, so happy to get home. Thank you so much,” Karelina said.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Karelina’s release in a Thursday statement and vowed to release all wrongfully detained Americans.

“American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans,” Rubio said.

The Russian intelligence agency said Karelina was exchanged for Artur Petrov, a Russian and German citizen who had been detained in the U.S. on export control violation charges, The New York Times reported