Russia frees US citizen Stephen Hubbard after more than four years in custody

Russia has released 74-year-old US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had been imprisoned since 2022 after being convicted of mercenary activity for allegedly fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Russia has released 74-year-old US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had been imprisoned since 2022 after being convicted of mercenary activity for allegedly fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher from Michigan, was arrested in April 2022 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, where Russian prosecutors alleged he had been manning a Ukrainian military checkpoint.

His release was announced during a meeting between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, where the two were discussing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Putin said Hubbard was at the city’s Pulkovo airport. Witkoff thanked the Russian leader for the release, according to reports of the meeting.

US President Donald Trump said earlier that he had spoken with Putin and asked him to release Hubbard. Washington had designated Hubbard as “wrongfully detained”, a classification that allows the US government to pursue diplomatic efforts to secure a detainee’s release.

Hubbard was sentenced in 2024 to six years and 10 months in prison following a trial held behind closed doors. Russian state media reported that he had pleaded guilty to the charges.

However, Hubbard’s US-based lawyer, Martin De Luca, previously told Reuters that his client denied the allegations and said he had not belonged to any combat or military unit.

Hubbard’s release came as the Trump administration pursued diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.