Source - WNBA star Brittney Griner's detention extended 30 days after appearing in court

The WNBA and U.S. officials have worked toward her release, without visible progress.The Russians have described Griner's case as a criminal offense without making any political associations.But it comes amid Moscow's war in Ukraine that has brought U.S.-Russian relations to the lowest level since the Cold War.Despite the strain, Russia and the United States carried out an unexpected prisoner exchange last month -- trading former Marine Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving a 20-year federal sentence for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the U.S. While the U.S. does not typically embrace such exchanges, it made the deal in part because Yaroshenko had already served a long portion of his prison sentence.The Russians might consider Griner a potential part of another such exchange.The U.S. State Department said last week that it now regards Griner as wrongfully detained, a change in classification that suggests the U.S. government will be more active in trying to secure her release even while the legal case plays out.