That. so what comes next for paul whelan? that is a good question. the administration has said that they will continue to press for the release both of paul and other americans who are detained in russia, including brittney griner. the u.s. ambassador to russia john sullivan was on our air yesterday and said that he has had vow indicated for paul s release since he was detained in late 2018. on he called ro reed s release a first step in the process and he will continue to advocate for whelan s release. but it does remain the case that prisoner swaps are rare and this is how trevor reed was able to be released. the administration said that it was a difficult decision for the president to authorize the release for yaroshenko to get trevor reed home driven by a number of factors.