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Russia Shares Footage of Brittney Griner on Plane, Her Release

Griner plane

The out basketball star is on her way home.

The Federal Security Service of the Russian government and Russian State Television released footage of the release of Brittney Griner, as well as the prisoner exchange for Russian Viktor Bout, an arms dealer accused of supplying arms to Al Qaeda, the Taliban and Rwandan rebels.

The initial video shows Griner on a plane where she's asked if she's happy and ready for her flight, to which Griner nods and said yes. She stares at the camera for a few long seconds, then someone asks her a question in Russian, which is then translated for her.

"Do you know where you're heading to?" the translator asks her.

"No."

The Russian speaker again says something, and the translator tells her, "You fly back home...to the U.S."

The FSB is Russia's main security agency, the successor to what was once known as the Soviet Union's KGB. With its director appointed by and directly answerable to the president of Russia, the FSB is responsible for intelligence and counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and surveillance. They are housed in the main building of the former KGB.

The video cuts to show Griner exiting the plane, and she says "Do svidanya," which is goodbye in Russian.

On a tarmac in the United Arab Emirates, the video shows Griner and her handlers walking towards another set of people, some of whom have their faces pixelated for safety, and the exchange for Bout occurs, at which point Bout and his handlers walk towards the camera, and Griner walks off screen to the left.

According to MSNBC, whether or not video would be taken of the release was a part of negotiations. Griner was not yet confirmed on American soil as of press time.

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