Viktor Bout, a freed Russian arms trader, stated on Saturday that he "wholeheartedly" supports Moscow's so-called "military operation" in Ukraine and that if given the opportunity and the requisite qualifications, he would "certainly go as a volunteer."
Bout made the remarks during a video interview with Maria Butina for the controversial Russian television network RT.
During the interview, he denied having any ties to the Taliban and supplying arms to Afghanistan.
When asked if he kept a portrait of President Vladimir Putin in his cell, Bout replied, "Yes, always. Why not? I'm proud that I'm Russian and that our president is Putin."
Bout, dubbed the "Merchant of Death" by his accusers, was released from U.S. custody on Thursday as part of a prisoner swap for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner.
The former Soviet military officer was incarcerated in the U.S. for 25 years after being found guilty of conspiring to kill Americans, buy and export anti-aircraft missiles, and give financial support to a terrorist group. Bout, who had maintained his innocence, is thought to be in his 50s, though different passports and documents cast doubt on this estimate due to discrepancies in his age.
Griner, who had played in the off-season for a Russian women's basketball team, was detained on drug allegations in February at an airport in the Moscow region.
Despite her testimony that she had mistakenly packed the cannabis oil discovered in her suitcase, she was sentenced to nine years in jail in early August and transferred to a Mordovia correctional colony in mid-November after losing her appeal.
Griner returned to the U.S. early Friday after being exchanged for Bout. She was "in good spirits" and "incredibly gracious," according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
The exchange, which was approved by US President Joe Biden on Thursday, excluded Paul Whelan, another American who the State Department has deemed to have been unfairly jailed. Whelan was detained in 2018 on suspicion of espionage charges, and after an unfair trial that US officials have criticized, he was given a 16-year prison sentence.
U.S. officials said that despite the U.S. offering up the names of several other Russian prisoners in U.S. custody that they would be willing to trade, Russia refused to release Whelan alongside Griner without the release of a former colonel from Russia's domestic spy organization who is currently in German custody.
The U.S. was unable to fulfill the request for the ex-colonel, Vadim Krasikov, because he is serving a life sentence in Germany for murder.
