U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said he planned to speak to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, concerning detained U.S. citizens. He said this to reporters at the State Department late on Wednesday. Whelan has been imprisoned for alleged espionage since his arrest in 2018. “I plan to raise an issue that’s a top priority for us: the release of Americans Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, who’ve been wrongfully detained and must be allowed to come home,’’ Blinken said. U.S. professional basketball player Griner was on trial for a drug offence after being detained in February at a Mos…