For Donating $51 to Ukraine Ballet Dancer Jailed for 12 Yrs in Russia

A former ballet dancer, who has US-Russian dual citizenship, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on treason charges for donating USD 51 to Ukraine

The US-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana was convicted on Thursday of treason in a Russian court. She was sent to prison for 12 years for making a USD 51 donation to a charity aiding Ukraine.

Khavana was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February. As per reports in Russian media, she pleaded guilty in a closed trial last week. She made the small donation to a US charity. Her trial took place in Yekaterinburg.

According to her attorney, Mikhail Mushailov, she plans to appeal against the verdict.

“She did not assume that the funds she transferred would be used for anti-Russian actions,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency.