Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old U.S. citizen who had been jailed for more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, on Wednesday, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.1,4,7
Putin announced the release during the talks, and Russian state news agencies, citing Putin, said Hubbard was at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport. Witkoff said Hubbard was now "going home to his family." Hubbard, a retired school teacher and Michigan native who served in the U.S. National Guard and Air Force, was captured in Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian authorities accused him of manning a checkpoint for mercenaries, and he was sentenced in 2024 to almost seven years in a penal colony. He denies the charge.1,4,7
In a statement posted early Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Hubbard "was just released from prison, at the request of President Donald J. Trump, made directly to President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation last week." He said Russia released Hubbard "out of respect for President Trump" and that the United States "was not required to give anything in return — an unprecedented situation for Russia. There was no 'swap' necessary for this release."1,4
The release came five days after Trump announced that his administration would waive some sanctions on Russia just before they were due to take effect. Putin praised that decision, while members of Congress, including some Republicans, criticized it harshly. In a later post, Trump linked the two matters, saying "numerous people" who had called for the sanctions to take effect as planned had "called to apologize to President Trump in that they didn't know that he was negotiating the release of Stephen Hubbard." He added: "If sanctions would have been placed, certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt."1
Video of the meeting showed Witkoff thanking Putin for freeing the American, whom the U.S. government had declared wrongfully detained. "I wanted to thank you very much. The president sends his thanks. Our whole nation sends it's thanks," Witkoff said. "Because of you, he's going home to his family." He then told Putin, "You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian, you are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that."1,3
The remarks drew criticism from some quarters. The New Republic quoted Republican Senator John Cornyn as writing on X, "No. Putin is stone cold killer," and quoted Jimmy Rushton of The Kyiv Independent as calling the exchange "Absurd simpering obsequiousness from a representative of the most powerful country on earth." The outlet also noted that Putin is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, a warrant the Kremlin has not acted on in the reports reviewed here.3
Hubbard is in poor health and was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment at a military hospital, according to CBS News. His family had little contact with him while he was detained, and they have maintained his innocence. The reports did not describe his condition in detail or say when he would arrive in the United States.1
Hubbard was the last American in Russia whom the State Department had formally declared wrongfully detained, CBS News reported. As many as 10 other Americans, including dual nationals, remain in Russian custody, the network said.1
Hubbard's release follows several earlier exchanges. In August, Russia freed Robert Gilman, a former Marine who had spent more than four years imprisoned in Russia, after his health deteriorated to a life-threatening condition; he was granted a humanitarian pardon following a direct appeal by Trump to Putin. Early last year, Russia released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel. In 2024, journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan were among those freed in a multi-country prisoner swap.1
The State Department maintains a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory for Russia, warning U.S. nationals against all travel to the country because of the risk of wrongful detention, arbitrary enforcement of local laws and limited U.S. consular assistance. The Trump administration last year created a designation for countries deemed "state sponsors of wrongful detention," which gives the State Department expanded authority to impose sanctions, export controls and travel restrictions on countries that use detained Americans as political leverage. Russia has not been given that designation, which has been applied to Iran in February and to Afghanistan.1
The reports differed on some details of Hubbard's case. CBS News gave his age as 74 and described his sentence as almost seven years, while DW and The Hill described it as seven years. The New Republic quoted Witkoff calling Hubbard a "75-year-old man" while giving his age as 74 elsewhere in the same article.1,3,4,7
The release came during talks focused on the war in Ukraine but that also covered other matters, CBS News reported. DW, citing the Kremlin, said Russia was "in principle" ready to resume trilateral talks next month. The reports did not say whether those talks would include the United States.1,4