A new video shows the moment American Brittney Griner learned she was leaving Russia and flying back to the U.S. following a prisoner swap between the two countries.
The WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist can be seen smiling when she learns of her release.
In the video, one Russian official can be heard asking Griner if she knows where she was heading, to which she said she does not. Griner was then told that she was “flying back home.”
“To the U.S.? OK,” she said, nodding. “OK.” Griner then smiled.
FSB via Storyful
The video begins with Griner and Russian officials appearing to sign forms. Griner is then seen boarding and talking with Russian officials on the plane. The video later shifts to show Griner after the flight landed. U.S. officials said Griner was initially flown from Moscow to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after which she boarded a flight back to the U.S.
The footage was released by Russia’s Federal Security Service.
Griner’s release on Thursday comes nearly 10 months after she was taken into custody at a Russian airport on accusations of possessing hash oil in vape cartridges. She was found guilty in early August of drug charges and lost an appeal in late October. She was taken to a penal colony to begin serving her sentence last month.
U.S. officials said they have been negotiating with Russia for months on securing Griner’s release. There were talks of a potential prisoner swap over the summer as the U.S. worked on release terms for Griner and Paul Whelan, another American who has been detained in Russia since 2018.
Griner’s release was secured in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death” who has been behind bars in the U.S. for more than 12 years. Before the prisoner swap occurred, Bout had been slated for release in the U.S. in 2029, according to an unnamed senior Biden administration official.
A background White House press call about Griner’s release said she was moved to Moscow from the penal colony where she had been serving her sentence sometime in the last two days. She was then flown to the UAE, “who assisted in facilitating the transfer today,” the Biden official said. From there, Griner boarded a flight to the U.S.
Biden and Griner’s wife, Cherelle, spoke with Griner over the phone after she landed in the UAE, the official said.
“She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home,” Biden said Thursday. “After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones, and she should have been there all along.”
Newsweek reached out to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
