Brittney Griner has landed back on US soil for the first time in 10 months after she was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap with “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout.
The WNBA star arrived at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio early on Friday morning, where she will be examined and receive any necessary medical treatment.
Footage showed Ms Griner and Bout being exchanged on the tarmac of a runway in the UAE on Thursday, following weeks of negotiations between Washington and Moscow.
The deal failed to include US Marine Paul Whelan who has been detained in Russia for the last four years. Mr Whelan told CNN he was “greatly disappointed” to learn he was not part of the prisoner swap, saying: “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”
President Joe Biden insisted on Thursday that “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan” and vowed to “never give up” securing his release, as the swap divided opinion across the country. The White House was also forced to deny claims made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE that MBS negotiated the deal.
