Ballerina Ksenia Karelina Emotional Return To L.A. After Release From Russian Prison

Ksenia Karelina, the Russian-American ballerina freed from a Russian prison after over a year behind bars, finally touched down back home in L.A. Friday night, greeted by family and friends, including her fiancé, boxer Chris van Heerden, who thanked Trump, and blasted Biden.

“The old administration didn’t do nothing for her. We’re very thankful for President Trump and the new administration,” van Heerden told TMZ Sports moments after Karelina’s plane touched down at LAX, and she reunited with family and friends.

Chris says while there were a “handful of people in the old administration that were amazing,” he quickly realized DJT was Ksenia’s best bet at being released from custody.

“I had faith and belief that President Trump would bring her back and we had to wait,” the 28-3-1 professional boxer added.

Karelina, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Russia, was arrested in January 2024 during a family trip to Yekaterinburg, where she was born, and charged with treason for a small donation she made to Ukraine.

Ksenia was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony in August 2024.

After he was sworn in as POTUS in January, Trump’s people began working on Karelina’s release … which ultimately came last week after a prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi.

Ksenia has been back in America since last Thursday, but this was the first time she’s been home since she was arrested — and you can see the joy and relief on her face.

“It feels like home, it’s amazing. Especially now with all of the friends and loved ones,” Karelina told us.

Ksenia, still shaken up by the experience, wasn’t ready to delve into the nitty-gritty details of what she went through overseas.

Karelina says she’ll eventually open up about her time behind bars, but for now, she’s just thrilled to be back with her people.

“I’m just really grateful to President Trump and the government for bringing me back and it just really feels good to be home.”