I really doubt Putin would have traded Whelan for the lifting of whatever sanctions you're referring to that are not effective.
I personally would have had a much bigger issue with this if we were willing to help out Russia to that extent in order to secure the release of the two of them.
Which sanctions and what makes you think Putin would have accepted a discontinuation of restrictions that weren't working anyway? To that extent, what is known about what was proposed during negotiations?
Let me get this straight- you want to remove sanctions that arent working ( that Putin knows arent working) in the hopes he goes on state TV to say "hey yall look what i got" when they already know those sanctions arent working?
I wouldn’t have a problem lifting sanctions that don’t work (or are slow developing) if it led to the release of another American. No point in keeping a bad contract on the team if the player isn’t helping the team.