December 8, 2022 Brittney Griner and Russia-Ukraine news

The prisoner exchange between the US and Russia for Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout was secured by joint mediation between UAE and Saudi Arabia, the countries said in a statement. 

The prisoner exchange was completed successfully at Abu Dhabi Airport on Thursday, the Russian foreign ministry said earlier Thursday.. US President Joe Biden expressed his gratitude to the UAE for its role in the swap in remarks at the White House.

The statement confirmed that Abu Dhabi received Griner by private plane from Moscow after the Russian authorities released her, in conjunction with the reception of Bout on a private plane from Washington after the US authorities released him, in the presence of specialists from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

"Both America and Russia claimed their citizens, in preparation for transfer to their countries," the statement said. "The UAE and Saudi Arabian foreign ministries expressed the thanks of their respective governments to the governments of the US and Russia for their cooperation and response, and for the joint mediation efforts made by the leaderships of the two countries."

A senior Emirati official told CNN the exchange of Griner and Bout was done at al Bateen airport in Abu Dhabi, which is an executive airport. Griner took off at approximately 9 a.m. ET just after Bout's flight left.

The decision was discussed when UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in October. They also spoke about it and other issues on a call Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the release of Brittney Griner from Russian detention and said the administration will continue efforts to bring Paul Whelan and other detainees back to the US.

The country's top diplomat said it “was as moving as it was unforgettable” to listen to Griner's wife, Cherelle, speak with Brittney in the Oval office today.

“Their strength, their resilience, has been nothing ... short of inspiring,” Blinken said.

In his public remarks Thursday, Blinken was also quick to acknowledge the reality of Whelan's continued detention.

“[We] will not relent in our efforts to bring Paul and all other U.S. nationals held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad home to their loved ones where they belong," the secretary of state said in an earlier statement.  

Whelan, a US citizen and former Marine — who was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges, which he has consistently and vehemently denied — is serving a 16-year prison sentence.

“We also extend deep appreciation to our many partners who helped achieve this outcome, including our Emirati friends, who assisted in the transfer today,” he said, indicating that the prisoner swap for Griner took place in the United Arab Emirates. 

“While we celebrate Brittney’s release, Paul Whelan and his family continue to suffer needlessly,” Blinken said. “Despite our ceaseless efforts, the Russian Government has not yet been willing to bring a long overdue end to his wrongful detention. I wholeheartedly wish we could have brought Paul home today on the same plane with Brittney.”

CNN political commentator Van Jones said the release of Brittney Griner from Russian detention was the result of an extensive "grassroots movement" — led especially by Black women back in the US. 

"Here is the deal, if you can bring one home, you can bring two home. So I don't see this as bad sign for Paul Whelan. I think it is a good sign for what Americans can do when we stand together," he added.

CNN's Don Lemon noted the significance of the moment for the LGBTQ community, as members of the community face challenges in the US and around the world.

Jones said Griner represents "everything in this country — she's female, she's LGBTQ, she's Black, and she is extraordinary. She's excellent. She's overcome. She's an icon. She's done everything you can do in her sport and more — and yet she still wasn't safe."

"We didn't let it stand. Americans came together. And I think that Biden and Kamala Harris, this is one of the things I think they'll be the most proud of," he said.

A US official says Russians signaled more recently that they were only willing to negotiate for Brittney Griner and not Paul Whelan. That is because Russians have been handling their cases differently based on what each has been accused of.

The Biden administration repeatedly made offers to get Whelan as part of this deal – even after Russia made clear only Griner was acceptable. 

In the end, when it was clear Russia was going to refuse on Whelan, the US had to accept it.

“It was a choice to get Brittney or nothing,” the US official said.

The official says it was a “difficult decision” for President Joe Biden but one he felt he had to make.

Remember: Whelan, a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen, was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges he has vehemently denied.

Whelan had been carrying out his sentence at a labor camp in Mordovia, an eight-hour drive from Moscow, where he told CNN in June 2021 he spent his days working in a clothing factory that he called a “sweatshop.”

The family of Paul Whelan, the American wrongful detainee left behind in Russia, expressed happiness at the news that Brittney Griner is on her way home, but said they are “devastated” that he was left behind.

They commended the Biden administration for both making the deal to secure her release, and noted they had been given a heads up about the deal.

“And now what? How do you continue to survive, day after day, when you know that your government has failed twice to free you from a foreign prison? I can't imagine he retains any hope that a government will negotiate his freedom at this point. It's clear that the US government has no concessions that the Russian government will take for Paul Whelan. And so Paul will remain a prisoner until that changes,” Whelan said.

“Increasingly, I worry that Paul himself won't survive 12 more years in a Russian labor colony. He has tried to stay healthy but one wonders how long that determination to keep going can endure,” he said, noting that “the likelihood that our parents will see their son again diminishes each day his wrongful detention continues.” 

David Whelan said he did not know if his brother was aware of Griner’s release yet, “although he will surely learn from Russian media.” 

Whelan commended the Biden administration for making the deal to free Griner, however, and acknowledged that the family had been given a heads up. 

“I am so glad that Brittney Griner is on her way home. As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays,” 

“The Biden administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen,” he said. 

President Joe Biden addressed the fact that the swap did not include another American who the State Department has declared wrongfully detained: Paul Whelan.

"While we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul's release, we are not giving up. We will never give up. We remain in close touch with Paul's family, the Whelan family. My thoughts and prayers are with them today. They have to have such mixed emotions today," Biden added.

"I guarantee," Biden said, that the US will keep working on Whelan's release.

Some background: Whelan, a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen, was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges he has vehemently denied.

Whelan had been carrying out his sentence at a labor camp in Mordovia, an eight-hour drive from Moscow, where he told CNN in June 2021 he spent his days working in a clothing factory that he called a “sweatshop.”

WNBA star Brittney Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, thanked US President Joe Biden for his administration's efforts in releasing Griner from Russian detention.

"Today my family is whole, but as you are all aware, there are so many other families that are not whole," she added later on in her remarks, referencing other Americans that remain in Russian detention including Paul Whelan.

"I will say that B.G. (Brittney Griner) and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul, whose family is in our hearts today as we celebrate B.G. being home," she said.

President Joe Biden said WNBA star Brittney Griner "is in good spirits" as she is on a plane back to the US.

Biden said Griner's went through her trial in Russia and her time in detention with "grit and incredible integrity."

"She wrote to me back in July. She didn't ask for special treatment, even though we'd been working on her release from day one. She requested a simple, quote, "please don't forget about me and the other American detainees," he added.

President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the White House on Thursday morning on Brittney Griner's release.

"After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held in intolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along," he said.

"This is a day we worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intense negotiations," he added, thanking all those who involved in her release as well as the UAE, where the swap took place.