The move comes as the two sides hold a second round of talks on normalizing bilateral relations

Russia and the US have conducted another prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing CIA officials. Moscow reportedly released Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russian dual national jailed over donations to a charity that supports the Ukrainian military, while Washington freed Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian citizen arrested for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics. Karelina's lawyer confirmed her release to RIA Novosti.

The new exchange comes as Russian and US delegations have convened in Istanbul, Trkiye, for closed-door talks to discuss the normalization of bilateral relations, including removing obstacles to the operations of diplomatic missions.

Karelina, a 34-year-old ballet dancer, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for treason last year after she was found guilty of donating around $50 to a US-based charity supporting Ukraine. Petrov, 33, was arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of the US, and was accused of smuggling, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The US Justice Department also said Petrov "allegedly participated in a scheme to procure US-sourced microelectronics subject to US export controls" which were intended for the Russian military.

"Today, [US President Donald] Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia," CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement to the WSJ. "I'm proud of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort, and we appreciate the government of UAE for enabling the exchange."

A CIA spokeswoman was as quoted by the WSJ as stating that "the exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship." She added that while Washington is "disappointed that other Americans remain wrongfully detained in Russia, we see this exchange as a positive step and will continue to work for their release."

The previous prisoner swap between the two countries took place in February, when Moscow released Marc Fogel, a former employee of the US embassy in Russia and teacher at an Anglo-American school in Moscow, who was arrested for possessing marijuana and hashish oil. In exchange, the US released Russian crypto businessman and computer programmer Aleksandr Vinnik, who was accused of hacking, fraud, and money laundering.