Happy Thursday and welcome to meet the press now. I'm Chuck Todd.

If it's Thursday, it's the end of a nearly 300-day nightmare for WNBA star Brittany Greiner

and a rare diplomatic success between the U.S. and

Russia as a war rages in Ukraine. The Olympic gold medalist is on her way back to America this

afternoon after spending 294 days in Russian prison for bringing cannabis oil into Russia.

She's expected to land at a military facility in San

Antonio later today. To secure her release, the U.S. agreed to exchange Russian arms dealer

Victor Boot, who was among the most wanted men in the world before his 2008 arrest.

Let more on him in a moment.

President Biden celebrated Greiner's release at a White House press conference this morning.

Moments ago, standing together with her,

Wierrelle and the Oval Office, I spoke with Brittany Greiner.

She's safe.

She's on a plane.

She's on her way home.

After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under untolerable circumstances.

Brittany will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along.

This is a day we've worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release.

Griner's release comes after she was first detained at a Moscow airport.

Back in February, she was trying to leave the country just before the start of the war.

She was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.

Now, the arrest came literally, as I said, days before Russia moved in to invade Ukraine,

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