Russia has detained a woman with dual U.S. and Russian citizenship over suspected treason, alleging that she raised money for the Ukrainian war effort, authorities said.
The woman, whose name hasn’t been released, was detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, FSB, alleged that the woman, who it said is a 33-year-old resident of Los Angeles, had taken part in unspecified “public actions” in the U.S. in support of Kyiv and had collected funds for a Ukrainian organization that were used to buy military supplies.
The FSB said it had opened a criminal case.
The FSB said the woman had been acting “against the security of our country” and had been supporting the Ukrainian army while in the United States, news agencies reported.
Treason is punishable by up to 20 years in prison in Russia.
Several US nationals are currently imprisoned in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested last year on espionage charges that he, his employer and the US government had rejected.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he wants to negotiate a prisoner exchange to swap Russians imprisoned abroad for US citizens detained in Russia.
