American Paul Whelan is a 53-year-old former Marine detained on espionage charges in Russia. On the eve of his fifth Christmas in a Russian prison, he made a call to CBS affiliate WTOP-TV in Washington, D.C.

Whelan told the reporter that his is a desperate plea that Joe Biden find a way to get him released. “I feel alone,” Whelan told the reporter. “I feel that I’ve been left behind.”

Whelan has watched the release of other Americans being held in Russia during the last year, most notably Marine veteran Trevor Reed and WNBA player Brittney Griner. Why hasn’t Whelan been released? Biden and the State Department insist that the return of Americans being held overseas is their top priority.

Mr. Biden is “the guy that made the decision to leave me behind twice,” Whelan said. “He’s the man that can bring me home.”

Whelan last week also gave a phone interview to the BBC in which he described his situation as “a serious betrayal.”

“Mr. President, you promise to bring me home,” Whelan told WTOP. “I’m still here. There has to be more that you can do to secure my release.”

Whelan is a native of Michigan. He was detained by Russian authorities in December 2018 as he attended a friend’s wedding. Convicted in 2020 of espionage, he has been serving a 16 year sentence of hard labor. The U.S. government and Whelan dismiss the espionage charges as baseless. The U.S. State Department declared him wrongfully detained. That designation allows additional tools in the diplomatic toolbox to negotiate his release.

Paul Whelan is serving his sentence in a penal colony in a remote Russian province, Mordovia, about 350 miles east of Moscow. He was attacked by a fellow prisoner last month but reported to not be seriously injured.

Whelan has been imprisoned much longer than those recently released. Hopes are raised that he will be a part of a prisoner swap and then he is left behind. The statements from the Biden administration remain the same.

In a statement provided to CBS News on Monday, Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said that “there is no higher priority for President Biden than bringing home the Americans still wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad, including Paul Whelan.”

In her statement, Watson reiterated what the State Department previously disclosed — that the U.S. has made “significant offers” to Russia for Whelan and Gershkovich, “including one earlier this month” that was rejected by Russia.

“We also continue our conversations with third party countries as we work to find a way to secure their release,” Watson added.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is also being held on espionage charges. His case has not gone to trial yet. The Russian authorities are stretching out his pre-trial detention with extension after extension. He was detained by Russian authorities during a reporting trip outside of Moscow, where he is based. Allegedly the State Department is working to get both men released.

It is smart to use the opportunities he finds to speak with the media. He has to keep the pressure on the Biden administration and do it publicly so that they keep his case in the news. His family have been good advocates for his release, including his sister’s visits to the White House. He also spoke to a reporter at the Detroit News.

“I’m depressed, to be quite honest,” Whelan told The Detroit News in a Christmas Eve phone interview. “I’m concerned that his administration will work out a deal for the (American) journalist that’s being held and will leave me here a third time.”

Whelan and the other prisoners aren’t allowed to celebrate Christmas or other holidays, so he expected Monday to pass like all the other days in his prison labor camp: No decorations, no special meals, no gifts, “no celebrations at all.”

Whelan’s detention has spanned two administrations ― Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden — two secretaries of state and three U.S. ambassadors to Russia. He’s been detained in Russia longer than Trump was president and worries he might be there longer than Biden, too.

His change of action – becoming more public instead of privately voicing his concerns – is intentional.

“I’m told everyone is doing all they can and that my release is a ‘top priority.’ But after five years, that sounds like my New Year’s resolutions ― quickly set aside and soon forgotten,” Whelan said.

“I’ve been told for five years that everyone’s doing everything they can … That they were close to having an agreement.”

But then he hears, again, that the Russians want something that the U.S. is unwilling to give, or that the Russians are “changing the goalposts” again, he added, a reference to conversations with U.S. officials.

In the last two exchanges ― prisoner swaps for basketball star Brittney Griner and another American, Trevor Reed, last year ― U.S. officials claimed the Russians refused to include Whelan, insisting on one-for-one trades.

“And my response to that is, why are they setting the terms? Why is it that the U.S. is jumping on their offers and not negotiating?” Whelan said. “It’s extremely frustrating when I get these updates. …. There just doesn’t seem to be enough decisive action taken.”

Unfortunately for Whelan and other Americans being held in Russia, Team Biden is weak and inept. Trump had a good record of bringing Americans home from detention overseas. Trump refused to trade the Russian international arms dealer in order to get an American prisoner released. Then Biden allowed such a deal for the release of Brittney Griner. This is an election year now and Biden has a tough road ahead to re-election. We’ll see how this develops.