The trio exchanged handshakes and hugs with President Biden and Vice President Harris at the foot of their plane's stairs and embraced their family members as onlookers cheered.
Treason cases have been rare in Russia in the last 30 years, with a handful annually. But since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, they have skyrocketed, along with espionage prosecutions.
The video was released by the state-controlled outlet Russia Today. Whelan is shown in a prison uniform standing among other prisoners, operating a sewing machine and eating with others.
Relations between the two countrieshave collapsed over the Ukraine war, with the U.S. slapping thousands of sanctions on Russia, and militarily, economically and diplomatically supporting Ukraine.
Brittney Griner has asked her supporters to advocate for the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine serving a 16-year prison term in Russia for espionage charges the United States are baseless.
In her first public statement since being freed from Russia, the two-time Olympic gold medalist says she'll play for her team, the Phoenix Mercury, when the season starts in May.
The former U.S. Marine has been held in Russia since 2018. As supporters celebrate Brittney Griner's release, they — Whelan himself included — are wondering why he was left behind.
Bout is a Russian who was the world's most notorious arms dealer in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was serving a 25-year prison sentence in Illinois before being freed as part of a U.S.-Russia swap.
President Biden has said Griner and Whelan are wrongfully detained in Russia. Griner, a WNBA star, was convicted of marijuana possession, and Whelan, an ex-Marine, was convicted of espionage.
The U.S. and Russia are trying to work out a prisoner exchange that involves basketball star Brittney Griner. While they've done deals for decades, the trading usually involves spies for spies.
The U.S. has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
