Brittney Griner freed from Russia, swapped for notorious arms dealer

FILE PHOTO: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, is escorted before the verdict in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia, August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/File Photo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been released in a prisoner swap with Russia in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout and was heading home on Thursday, ending what President Joe Biden called months of "hell" for her and her wife.

The swap was arranged after months of talks during a time of high tension between the two countries after Russia's February invasion of Ukraine.