Russia has released American citizen Stephen Hubbard after more than four years in custody, a move announced as Moscow and Washington renewed talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, was released Wednesday and taken to St. Petersburg ahead of his return to the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the release during a meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
President Donald Trump said he personally asked Putin to release Hubbard during a recent phone call and that the United States made no concessions in exchange.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian leader agreed to the request after also considering Hubbard’s health.
“The president sends his thanks, our whole nation sends their thanks, because of Stephen Hubbard,” Witkoff told Putin during their meeting, according to remarks carried by Russian state television and reported by Reuters.
Trump later posted an image showing Hubbard aboard a plane holding an American flag. The president told reporters Wednesday night that Hubbard had landed and was expected to visit the White House in the coming days.
Hubbard had lived in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum since 2014 after previously spending decades abroad, including approximately 25 years teaching English in Japan.
Russian forces captured Izyum shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian authorities said Hubbard was detained that April and accused him of participating in Ukraine’s territorial defense forces.
Prosecutors alleged Hubbard had received weapons and training and had been promised $1,000 per month to fight on Ukraine’s behalf.
Following a closed-door trial, a Moscow court convicted Hubbard of mercenary activity in October 2024 and sentenced him to six years and 10 months in prison.
Hubbard’s release came as Witkoff met Putin in St. Petersburg as part of the Trump administration’s latest effort to negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We’ve given a lot to Ukraine. We’ve gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss,” Trump said.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that a deal to end the war might be close.
“We’re negotiating with Russia right now on Ukraine,” he said. “We are maybe close to a deal for the first time in a long time.”
