Cherelle Griner said Thursday that she is "overwhelmed with emotions" after her wife, WNBA star Brittney Griner, had been freed from Russian detention in a prisoner swap.

Driving the news: "Over the last nine months, you all have been so privy to one of the darkest moments of my life," Cherelle Griner said Thursday, appearing with President Biden.

"Today, I'm just standing here overwhelmed with emotions, but the most important emotion that I have right now is just sincere gratitude for President Biden and his entire administration."

WNBA star Brittney Griner is now free, but her liberation came at the cost of unleashing a notorious Russian arms dealer named Viktor Bout, who had been penned up in a federal penitentiary in Illinois.

An allegedly ruthless and shrewd weapons merchant, Bout's ferociousness in the black market arena across Eastern Europe into Africa and the Middle East earned him monikers such as the "Merchant of Death" and "Sanctions Buster" and purportedly inspired the Nicolas Cage film Lord of War.

The exchange of WNBA star Brittney Griner and arms dealer Viktor Bout was a rare moment of successful diplomacy between Moscow and Washington as relations between the two countries deteriorate over the war in Ukraine.

For many, the trade will evoke memories of Soviet-era spy swaps — a more positive reminder of that era than the nuclear standoff that President Joe Biden recently said left the world facing its most dangerous moment since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Miracles happen. But so does good diplomacy.

The release of WNBA star Brittney Griner is a huge moment for Griner and for America at a time when public confidence in government is low.

Griner was detained in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, charged with possessing vape cannisters with cannabis oil. She faced years of difficult imprisonment in Russia, having recently been moved to a labor detention camp with harsh conditions.

Viktor Bout, one of the world's most infamous arms dealers, has been released from US custody as part of a prisoner exchange with US basketball star Brittney Griner.

Griner had been in custody since February after Moscow airport officials found cannabis oil in her luggage while she was returning to the US after playing in Russia.

Rumours had circulated in US media for months that senior state department officials had sought to secure Griner's release in exchange for the arms dealer's freedom.

Brittney Griner was arrested in February before the start of the Russia and Ukraine war for bringing in vape cartridges containing oils derived from cannabis through a Moscow airport as she was returning to the country to play for a basketball league in the country.

About 10 months later, just weeks before the Christmas holiday, Griner is coming home.

Griner was freed from a Russian penal colony on Thursday in a prisoner exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.

WNBA star Brittney Griner has been freed in a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia and is in the custody of U.S. officials, President Biden said Thursday.

Driving the news: In exchange for Griner, the U.S. has freed convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, according to multiple media reports.

"Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is one her way home," Biden tweeted Thursday, alongside photos of Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner.

WNBA star Brittney Griner was released to the United States in a prisoner swap Thursday, U.S. officials said, ending her 294-day ordeal in Russian custody. 

U.S. officials confirmed to VICE News and other media outlets that they secured Griner’s release in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. President Joe Biden signed off on the deal within the last week, CBS News reported. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the U.S. is "actively engaged" with Russia in discussions over a prisoner swap to return American prisoners Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.

Appearing on CBS News' "Face The Nation," Blinken said negotiations with Russia were ongoing.

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has arrived in a prison colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia — 300 miles southwest of Moscow — to begin serving out a nine-year sentence on drug charges, her lawyers say.

The announcement by Griner's legal team Thursday was the first confirmation of the American's whereabouts since Russian authorities transferred her from a Moscow detention center nearly two weeks ago — a period of time typical for Russia's opaque prison transfer system.