US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he plans to soon speak to Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for the first time since the war in Ukraine began to discuss the release of detained US citizens. “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 told reporters at the State Department on Wednesday. Whelan has been imprisoned for alleged espionage since his arrest in 2018. US professional basketball player Griner is on trial for a drug offence after being…