U.S. President Joe Biden's move to exchange a notorious arms dealer for women's basketball star Brittney Griner, without a deal for former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, was celebrated by much of his party while opening the president to criticism that the deal is lopsided and risks detentions of more Americans abroad.
On Thursday, Biden said Griner was on a flight home after the U.S. swapped Viktor Bout, the so-called merchant of death, whom Russia has been working for years to free.
The swap was characterized by the Kremlin as an example of Russian President Vladimir Putin un-upping Biden, with human rights ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova calling Bout's return a true Christmas present. Putin could point to Griner's release as a humanitarian gesture even as his military assault on Ukraine continues.
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