WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is marking the four-year anniversary of the detention in Russia of American businessman Paul Whelan, whose continued imprisonment is one of several major irritants in tattered relations between Washington and Moscow. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday that securing Whelan’s release remains a top administration priority. U.S. officials…

A plane carrying basketball star Brittney Griner landed in the United States early on Friday, nearly 10 months after she was detained in Russia. Griner was 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”…

WASHINGTON—WNBA star Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a Russian penal colony, her lawyers and agent said Thursday. Griner was transferred to a penal colony in Mordovia, about 350 kilometers (210 miles) east of Moscow, after a Russian court last month rejected her appeal of her sentence. Her lawyers…

MOSCOW—Lawyers for American basketball star Brittney Griner have filed an appeal of her nine-year Russian prison sentence for drug possession, Russian news agencies reported Monday, amid talks between the United States and Russia that could lead to a high-profile prisoner swap. Griner, an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold…