August 4, 2022 Brittney Griner verdict and Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

The Phoenix Mercury, Brittney Griner’s WNBA team, held a 42-second moment of silence before their game on Thursday night. The number of seconds signifies Griner’s jersey number, 42.

Players from the Mercury and the Connecticut Sun gathered in a circle in the middle of the court. Towards the end of the video some people in the arena started chanting “bring her home.”

Griner was convicted of deliberately smuggling drugs into Russia and sentenced to nine years of jail time Thursday.

The verdict comes about six months after the 31-year-old was arrested at a Moscow airport and accused by Russian prosecutors of trying to smuggle less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. The two-time US Olympic basketball gold medalist pleaded guilty to drug charges last month and said she accidentally packed the drugs while in a hurry.

Watch the moment:

WNBA Phoenix Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard

WNBA Phoenix Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard told CNN’s Carolyn Manno that the guilty verdict and nine year sentence levied on the Mercury’s Brittney Griner is “unacceptable.”

Ahead of the Mercury’s game against the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night, Nygaard said, “We have carried this weight all year. To have this happen right now before a game. It’s really challenging.

This image taken from video shows a destroyed barrack at a prison in Olenivka, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces, in eastern Ukraine, on July 29.

The US believes Russia is planning to falsify evidence to frame the Ukrainian armed forces for the Olenivka prison attack on July 29, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, confirmed.

CNN reported Wednesday that the White House believes Russia will falsify evidence ahead of visits to the prison by outside parties. 

On the detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner, Kirby elaborated further on what US President Joe Biden has been doing.

“When I say personally involved, I mean, he’s, he’s in constant touch with all the members of his team that are working on Brittney’s case and it’s not just Secretary of State Blinken. [It’s] Jake Sullivan, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the deputy Homeland Security adviser Josh Geltzer. I mean there’s a lot of people involved in here and he’s driving a process of continual updates that he can get from his team. He’s offering guidance to them as needed,” Kirby told CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, adding, “You’ve seen that he has talked to Mrs. Griner herself, and I certainly would expect that he’s going to continue to have those kinds of conversations going forward. He’s staying focused on this.”

Asked by CNN’s Diamond if Biden would be willing to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Griner’s Case, he said that they had no calls to readout or preview. 

And on the decision to make the deal public, Kirby said, “Can we say that making it public had a direct line to bringing them home? Not yet, but we hope it will. We hope it will. We felt, we felt it was important to make sure the American people knew, but as well as people around the world, how seriously we’re taking these two cases. And that, so seriously, in fact, that that we had made a proposal that we believe the Russians ought to accept and you will notice that the day after we did that the Russians started talking, even publicly. So I’ll leave it at that.” 

And asked about CNN’s reporting that the Department of Homeland Security is going to stop wiping mobile devices of high level officials and political appointees without backing them up first, Kirby declined to comment further.  

The Ukrainian government and the Turkish Defense Ministry say three more ships are expected to leave Ukrainian ports Friday laden with grain.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister, said on Facebook that “from 5 to 8 in the morning, two ships are expected to depart from the port of Chornomorsk, as well as one from the port of Odesa. After that, a caravan will be formed, which, together with the leading ship, will go to the ports of destination.”

He said the three bulk carriers will together carry more than 50 thousand tonnes of Ukrainian corn

“We hope for the professionalism of all those involved,” Kubrakov said.

The Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, confirmed the three ships would be sailing under the auspices of the agreement signed by Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine on July 22.

“As a result of the intense work and coordination at the [Joint Coordination] center, 3 ships are planned to set sail from Ukrainian ports… In addition, an empty ship is expected to move to Ukraine after being inspected in Istanbul,” Akar said.

National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said that it’s “up to the Russian side” on whether the conviction of WNBA star Brittney Griner opens new doors for negotiations of a prisoner swap between the US and Russia. 

“That’s really up to the Russian side. We’re still open to having our proposal seriously and positively considered and if on the Russian side, that means they feel like they’re more empowered to do that, then so be it,” Kirby said when asked by reporters in Thursday’s White House briefing. 

Kirby reiterated the US’s position remains that they want Russia to “take the deal on the table because it’s a good one, it’s a fair one, and it’ll help bring Paul (Whelan) and Brittney home,” Kirby said, also referring to Paul Whelan. 

Asked if the Russians were sending a message to the US by giving Griner so severe a sentence, Kirby suggested that may not be the case, noting similar extreme sentences for foreign nationals in Russia. 

“Your question presupposes that it’s a message sending exercise, maybe it is, maybe it’s not. As I said, historically what we’ve seen is foreign born citizens that are arrested and convicted of drug charges tend to get — just historically, anecdotally speaking — tend to get higher sentences, almost to the max,” Kirby said, comparing those people to Russian born citizens.

“I wish I could get into the judge’s head. I can’t do it. So I cant define why he chose 9 years. As I said to Nancy it’s a reprehensible sentence. She shouldn’t have been on trial to begin with,” Kirby said. 

Brittney Griner leaves the courtroom after the court's verdict on August 4.

WNBA star Brittney Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, said that Griner’s defense team has 10 days to appeal the court’s decision, which found Griner guilty of drug smuggling and sentenced her to nine years of jail time.

Earlier today in a written statement following the court’s decision, both of Griner’s lawyers, Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said they would appeal.

Later, speaking to journalists outside the Khimki court near Moscow region, Boykov said that the average time in jail for this type of crime is five years, adding that almost a third of those convicted get a parole.

Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners law firm, told journalists that Griner “is not doing fine today.”

Boykov added that the WNBA star passed through her lawyers a message for her family that is not to become public. Griner’s defense team is hopeful that she will be able to talk to her family next week.

Blagovolina added that Griner will return to the detention center she is currently kept at. Both lawyers agreed that Griner has been treated fine so far.

Asked about the prisoner swap offer by the US, Griner’s lawyers said they had no information.

“Unfortunately, we are not involved in the process,” Blagovolina said, responding to a question by CNN outside the court.

WNBA star Brittney Griner’s sentencing by a Russian court to nine years in prison with a fine of 1 million rubles, which is about $16,400 USD, “for nothing more than an unintentional oversight” is a “miscarriage of justice,” Charge d’Affaires of the US embassy in Russia Elizabeth Rood said Wednesday outside the court in Khimki, near Moscow.

Rood, who attended every session of Griner’s trial, said she will continue to be closely engaged and will remain in frequent contact with Griner and her lawyers.

“Secretary of State Blinken, President Biden’s national security team, and the entire American government remain committed to bringing miss Griner home safely to her family, friends and loved ones,” Rood added.

Rood said she had “no higher priority” than the safety and wellbeing of Griner and other US citizens detained in Russia.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a joint statement following a Russian court sentencing basketball player Brittney Griner to nine years of jail time, saying they are still hoping for her safe return.

Brittney Griner’s WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, released the following statement on Thursday:

Other WNBA players and coaches in the sports world are also reacting, tweeting their support.

University of South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a tweet, “#FreeBrittneyGriner we will not stop advocating for you release. Hold on to God unchanging hand. We love you, BG!”

Connecticut Sun guard Dijonai Carrington said, “praying so hard for BG man.”

Others, including Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson and University of Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers, tweeted “Free BG,” standing for Brittney Griner.

John Kirby speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, August 2.

US National Security Council Director for Strategic Communications John Kirby echoed President Joe Biden’s comments Thursday, calling for Brittney Griner’s immediate release.

“This sentence, this trial just reaffirms what we have been saying all along: Brittney has been wrongfully detained and she needs to be immediately released by Russian authorities so she can be home with her wife, her teammates, and her friends and family and the President is going to stay 100% committed to achieving that outcome,” Kirby said during an appearance on MSNBC. 

He pointed to the United States’ “serious proposal” for a prisoner swap with the Russians. 

Although Kirby indicated that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would “buttonhole” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the proposal while they are both in Cambodia, a senior State Department official said the two diplomats did not speak while they both attended a dinner at the ASEAN meetings Thursday.

State Department officials have repeatedly said there are no plans for Blinken to meet with his Russian counterpart, with whom he spoke by phone last Friday.

And following the sentencing, Kirby said that the US would push for consular access to Griner. 

“We’re going to continue to insist — as we must — to have consular access to Mrs. Griner so that we can make sure we can keep that communication going and we can make sure that we can continue to make sure that she’s being well treated,” he said. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media on August 1, in New York City.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Brittney Griner’s nine-year sentence, saying it “further compounds the injustice of her wrongful detention” and “puts a spotlight on our significant concerns with Russia’s legal system and the Russian government’s use of wrongful detentions to advance its own agenda, using individuals as political pawns.” 

Blinken said the US would “also continue to press for fair and transparent treatment for all U.S. citizen detainees in Russia.”

The lawyers of WNBA star Brittney Griner, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said in a written statement following the verdict announcement that the court ignored all the evidence they presented and that they will appeal the decision.

“This contradicts the existing legal practice. Taking into account the amount of the substance (not to mention the defects of the expertise) and the plea, the verdict is absolutely unreasonable. We will certainly file an appeal,” they added.

Blagovolina is a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners law firm.

President Joe Biden gives remarks during a meeting on July 28, in Washington, DC.

US President Joe Biden reacted Thursday to a Russian court finding WNBA star Brittney Griner guilty of drug smuggling, calling her sentence of nine years in prison “unacceptable.”

He continued: “My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.” 

The Russian court said that Griner committed the crime deliberately and sentenced her to nine years of jail time and a fine of 1 million rubles (roughly $16,400). Griner was arrested with less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17, shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The sentencing came as CNN has reported that the US has made a “substantial offer” with Russia of a proposed prisoner swap for Griner and Paul Whelan with convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

After a Russian court found Brittney Griner guilty of drug smuggling and sentenced her to 9 years of jail time, US officials say that they believe the state of play on trying to get Griner out of Russia remains the same for now.

The US made what the administration has described as a “substantial offer” to Russia to exchange both Griner and Paul Whelan for convicted Russian arms trafficker Victor Bout. The administration will continue to try to move forward on those negotiations and press Russia to accept that offer, officials said Thursday. 

But, as one official pointed out, this process expected to continue to take some time — and it is ultimately up to Russia how quickly it wants to move. 

Brittney Griner sits inside a defendants' cage before the court's verdict in Khimki, Russia on August 4.

WNBA star Brittney Griner has been sentenced by a Russian court to 9 years of jail time with a fine of 1 million rubles (roughly $16,400), Judge Anna Sotnikova of the Khimki city court said Thursday. 

The court said it took into account her partial admission of guilt, remorse for the deed, state of health and charitable activities.

Griner was found guilty of drug smuggling, a crime the judge said she committed deliberately. Griner was arrested with less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17. 

She said it was “an honest mistake” due to packing in a hurry. 

Her lawyers argued that if Griner ever used medical marijuana, it was only at home back in Arizona, where it is legal, very rarely, in the short periods between competitions and on vacation, only on the prescription of a doctor for her severe pain from sports injuries.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist apologized in her final statement in court Thursday and asked for the court’s leniency, explaining that she had no intent to break any Russian laws.

Brittney Griner is escorted to the courtroom to hear the court's final decision in Khimki, Russia, on August 4.

A Russian court has found Brittney Griner guilty of drug smuggling with criminal intent.

The judge at Khimki court in the Moscow region is still reading out the verdict. The judge is now going through the facts of the case, the witnesses called and their testimonies.

Some background: The 31-year-old Olympic gold medalist was arrested at a Moscow airport and accused by Russian prosecutors of trying to smuggle less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage.

“I never meant to hurt anybody, I never meant to put in jeopardy the Russian population, I never meant to break any laws here,” Griner said in the Khimki city courthouse on Thursday. “I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t end my life here. I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that that is far from this courtroom.”

“I had no intent on breaking any Russian laws,” she said.

She pleaded guilty to drug charges last month in what her lawyers say was an attempt to take responsibility and receive leniency.

In closing arguments Thursday, a prosecutor asked for 9.5 years of jail time for Griner, according to defense lawyer Maria Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners law firm.

Blagovolina argued that Griner never used marijuana in Russia and that she never had the intention of doing so. She had no need to bring the vape cartridges to Russia, the lawyer added.

Brittney Griner listens to a verdict in a courtroom in Khimki, Russia, on Thursday, August 4.

WNBA star Brittney Griner is now back inside a Russian courtroom for her verdict announcement, which is expected to be delivered shortly.

Olenivka prison in Donetsk seen in a satellite photo provided by Maxar Technologies on July 30, following the attack on the facility.

White House officials believe Russia is preparing to falsify evidence to blame Ukrainian forces for the deadly blast at the Olenivka prison ahead of visits to the site by outside parties.

The US supplied Ukraine with the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system earlier this year. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the attack on the prison, which is in separatist-held eastern Ukraine, was “a deliberate war crime by the Russians.”

Russia has previously blamed Ukraine for the attack.

UN mission: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a Wednesday news conference that the UN is seeking to establish a fact-finding team to study the attack on the detention facility that resulted in at least 50 deaths and dozens of injuries of Ukrainian prisoners of war. 

Russia and Ukraine both requested an investigation into the attack, Guterres told reporters in New York. He added that the terms of reference for the panel would need to be accepted by Russia and Ukraine before the fact-finding mission would begin. 

Ukraine blames mercenary group: The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Intelligence department claimed Wednesday that the detonation of the building where Ukrainian soldiers were held “was carried out by the fighters of the ‘Wagner’ military command center using a highly flammable substance, which led to the rapid spread of the fire in the premises.”

Wagner is a private military contractor whose fighters have been involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as other conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. 

CNN is unable to verify the claim by the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence department, which provided no evidence to support its allegation.

What Russia is saying: The Russian government has rejected accusations from the White House that it is falsifying evidence.

“One thing can be said here, which is absolutely obvious and absolutely proven about what happened in Olenivka. People, namely the Ukrainian prisoners of war, who were kept there, they died at the hands of the Ukrainian military,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists in a call on Thursday. 

“Ukraine killed its soldiers who were in captivity. Many wounded. Therefore, there is hard evidence here and there is nothing to hide,” Peskov said. 

In Thursday’s call, Peskov said Russia had invited the UN and the ICRC to visit the site. However, in a statement issued on Wednesday, the ICRC said it still had not been given access to the site.

CNN’s Uliana Pavlova contributed reporting to this post.

The village of Ivanivka in southern Ukraine has been recaptured from Russian forces following a two-week artillery battle.

It remains deserted. A commander of Ukraine’s Air Force reconnaissance unit joins CNN on the ground to show what’s left behind.

Bodies of people killed in the town of Toretsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on August 4.

Ukrainian authorities said eight people were killed Thursday by Russian shelling in the town of Toretsk in the Donetsk region.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of Donetsk regional military administration, said four others had been injured, three of them children. He said a shell had hit a transportation stop.

Toretsk is south of the town of Bakhmut and is frequently hit by shelling.

Repeating the government’s appeal for people to evacuate the region, Kyrylenko said: “All those who still remain in Donetsk region are putting themselves in mortal danger. … Do not turn yourself into a Russian target!”