Russia frees American Stephen Hubbard during Putin–Witkoff meeting in St. Petersburg

Russia on Wednesday released retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard, 74, who had been detained since 2022 and sentenced in Moscow to nearly seven years in prison on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin announced the release during his meeting in St. Petersburg with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to Reuters and Russian state media.

Hubbard, a Michigan native, had lived in Izyum, in eastern Ukraine, since 2014. He was captured by Russian forces in April 2022, shortly after the full-scale invasion, and in October 2024 a Moscow court sentenced him to six years and ten months. Washington designated him as wrongfully detained in January 2025.

President Donald Trump celebrated the release on his Truth Social network: “Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family. Welcome home Stephen, it’s great to have you back,” he wrote, adding that there was no prisoner swap. According to CBS News, Hubbard, who is in poor health, will fly to Texas to receive medical care at a military hospital. Witkoff thanked Putin for the gesture: “Because of you, he’s going home to his family.”

The release came as an opening goodwill gesture at the ninth meeting between Witkoff and Putin, held at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg one day after the envoy’s summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo. On the table are a possible basis for a ceasefire, the resumption of trilateral talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine, and economic cooperation, including the deal to import Russian diesel into the United States. No ceasefire has been announced so far, and the meeting continued behind closed doors.

Photo: Moscow City Court Press Service / AFP via Getty Images

Source: Reuters