SAN ANTONIO – A video released by the Russian state media showed WNBA star Brittney Griner before she was handed over to U.S. authorities.
Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a high-profile prisoner exchange as the U.S. released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Her case drew international attention with advocates demanding her release.
President Joe Biden said efforts to bring Griner home took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”
Upon her arrival in the U.S., Griner is expected to land at Kelly Field in San Antonio, a spokesperson confirmed to ABC News. She will be taken to Brooke Army Medical Center for a routine medical evaluation.
The video released Thursday afternoon shows Griner entering a van and then a plane on the tarmac, where she is seen smiling as she speaks with a man through an interpreter, KSAT reported.
She is asked, “Are you ready for a flight?” She replies, “Yes, I’m ready.”
“Do you know where you’re heading to?” the interpreter asks.
When Griner replies “No,” the man says, “Your flight back home.”
“To the U.S. ... OK,” Griner says.
The interpreter then says, “Everything is going to be fine,” and Griner nods her head and smiles, the video shows.