Russia has freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher jailed on allegations that he fought as a mercenary in Ukraine, US envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
The release comes as President Donald Trump has pursued a series of measures viewed as favorable to Moscow.
Hubbard, a Michigan resident, was convicted in a closed 2024 trial and sentenced to almost seven years behind bars.
Russian prosecutors alleged that Hubbard entered into an agreement with Ukraine’s military after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. They said he fought with Ukrainian forces for roughly two months before being captured.
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Under the Biden administration, the US government classified Hubbard as wrongfully detained.
Putin told Witkoff that Hubbard had reached Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg following his release.
Witkoff has been working to help broker an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, seeking an end to a war that will reach its five-year mark in February.
Trump had hinted earlier in the week that Hubbard might be freed, telling reporters at the White House, “I’ve been talking to President Putin about Mr. Hubbard. I’ve been talking to him at length. I’ve asked him to release him. Let’s see what happens.”
