The Los Angeles spa worker admits the charge in hopes of getting a lower sentence, according to her lawyer, but could face a decade-and-a-half in a penal colony.
A US-Russian woman who admitted giving around £40 to a charity supporting Ukraine could be jailed for up to 15 years, if prosecutors in Russia have their way, the country’s news agencies have said.
Ksenia Karelina was accused of treason for collecting money for Ukraine’s military when she was arrested in Yekaterinburg, in southwestern Russia, in February.
The 33-year-old admitted the charge at a closed trial in the city on Wednesday, news reports said.
News agency Interfax, quoting her lawyer Mikhail Mushalov, said prosecutors had called for a 15-year term in a penal colony, on Thursday.
Karelina, an amateur ballerina, was born in Russia but reportedly obtained US citizenship by marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles, where she worked in a spa.
Investigators brought the treason charge after discovering by searching her mobile phone that she made a $51 (£40) donation to Razom, a charity that provides aid to Ukraine, when Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.
She was visiting family in Russia when she was arrested, rights group The First Department said.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claims she proactively collected money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organisations.
It said the donation “was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces”.
Vladimir Putin’s government has sharply cracked down on both dissent and criticism of the war since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Any perceived criticism of the Russian military is also banned, while it is felt by some that Moscow is targeting US nationals for arrest.
In the largest Russia-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War, Russia last week released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American corporate security executive Paul Whelan, both of whom were imprisoned on espionage convictions.
They were joined by US-Russian dual national radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who had been sentenced to six-and-a-half years for spreading “false information” about the Russian military.
Russia also released several prominent opposition figures who were imprisoned for criticising the Ukraine military operation.