Russia says dual national California woman arrested over suspected treason for helping Ukraine's armed forces

Moscow — Russia's FSB security services said on Tuesday it had arrested a woman with dual U.S.-Russian nationality who was suspected of treason for raising funds for the Ukrainian army. The FSB in the central Urals city of Yekaterinburg said it had "suppressed the illegal activities" of a 33-year-old woman, whom it identified only as dual national and resident of Los Angeles, and taken her into custody.

It said the woman had been "proactively collecting funds... which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medical items, equipment, means of destruction and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces." 

The announcement came just four days before the two-year mark of Russia's ongoing, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which sparked the most devastating war on the European continent since the end of World War II. 

President Biden has been pushing U.S. lawmakers to clear additional funding for Ukraine, which analysts say is vital to ensuring the country can continue to defend itself against the Russian aggression.   

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti posted a video from the FSB showing hooded officers handcuffing and escorting a woman in a white coat with a white hat pulled down over her eyes.

The FSB said she had been acting "against the security of our country" and had been supporting the Ukrainian army while in the United States.

Treason is punishable by up to life in prison under legislation toughened since the start of the military offensive.

Several U.S. nationals are currently imprisoned in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last year on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government have rejected as baseless.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan has been in prison in Russia since 2018, serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that he had spoken on the phone with Whelan, whom, along with Gershkovich, the U.S. has deemed to be wrongfully detained by Russia. 

"Our intensive efforts to bring Paul home continue every single day, and they will until he and Evan Gershkovich and every other American wrongfully detained is back with their loved ones," Blinken said after the call.

Another dual U.S.-Russian national, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, is also being held in pre-trial detention. He faces charges of failing to register as a "foreign agent" and contravening Russia's strict military censorship laws.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he wants to negotiate a prisoner exchange to swap Russians imprisoned abroad for U.S. citizens detained in Russia. The U.S. and Russia have carried out previous prisoner swaps, including the high-profile exchange at the end of 2022 that saw Russia release WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been jailed for years in the U.S.

In:
• Paul Whelan
• Evan Gershkovich