A 32-year-old Russian-American woman is sentenced to 12 years in prison for donating 50 dollars to a charity organization that supports Ukraine.
Ksenia Karelina, who works as a ballet dancer and at a spa in Los Angeles, traveled to visit relatives in Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains in January and was arrested by Russian police.
She is now convicted of "high treason", a verdict that the White House has described as "vengeful".
We're talking about 50 dollars that were intended to reduce the suffering of the Ukrainian people. Calling it "high treason" is just ridiculous, John Kirby, spokesperson for the US National Security Council, has said to American media.
It was shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine that Ksenia Karelina donated 51.80 dollars to the organization "Razom for Ukraine" (Together for Ukraine).
Karelina has pleaded guilty to the charges.
