Brittney Griner is free but other winners and losers in prisoner swap deal may surprise you

Brittney Griner is back in the US and finally free after being wrongfully imprisoned in Russia. There are other big winners after this swap and they include Putin, Saudi and even Biden.

What really stinks is Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine. It was painful to see the State Department working to get Brittney Griner back, when civilians in Ukraine are dying at Putin’s hands and nuclear tensions are high. Brittney Griner, in red, on the tarmac as Viktor Bout, with the envelope, walks by. (AP) In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service, WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in the plane as she flies to Abu Dhabi to be exchanged for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, in Russia, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.  (Russian Federal Security Service via AP) WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 08: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the release of Olympian and WNBA player Brittney Griner from Russian custody, at the White House on December 08, 2022 in Washington, DC. Griner was released as part of a prisoner swap that involved Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ( ) Cherelle Griner (L), wife of Olympian and WNBA player Brittney Griner, speaks after U.S. President Joe Biden announced her release from Russian custody, at the White House on December 08, 2022 in Washington, DC. Griner was released as part of a prisoner swap that involved Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner, stands listening to a verdict in a courtroom in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.  (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP) Rebecca Grant is president of IRIS Independent Research.

The losers? Current Russian hostage Paul Whelan and the people of Ukraine. And America’s long-term reputation.