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Russia released WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a dramatic high-profile prisoner swap, with the United States freeing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, US officials said.
Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer, will be deported from the United States
The Associated Press · Published: December 8, 2022 8:26 AM ET | Last updated: 43 minutes ago
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a courtroom in Moscow on August 4. On Thursday, the US announced that she had been released as part of a prisoner exchange between the US and Russia. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/The Associated Press)
Russia released WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a dramatic high-profile prisoner swap, with the United States freeing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, US officials said.
The exchange, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, achieved a key goal for President Joe Biden but came at a heavy price, leaving behind an American jailed for nearly four years in Russia, Paul Whelan, who also holds Canadian citizenship.
I spoke with Brittney Griner a few moments ago.
She is safe.
He goes on a plane.
He returns home. pic.twitter.com/FmHgfzrcDT
—@POTUS
Bout has been imprisoned in the United States since a federal court conviction in 2011 on various charges, including conspiracy to kill American citizens.
Biden, who tweeted a photo of the White House with Griner’s spouse, Cherelle Watson, is expected to speak about the development shortly, several US media reported.
More to come.
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