LONDON — President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Russia on Wednesday for talks with President Vladimir Putin and to help oversee the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired Michigan teacher held by Russian authorities since 2022.
Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg early Wednesday, according to a Kremlin aide, ahead of his scheduled meeting with Putin.
The Kremlin’s account of the meeting said Witkoff expressed gratitude to Putin for Hubbard’s release. Putin said Hubbard, who was detained in eastern Ukraine in April 2022, had been taken to Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg.
“I want to thank you very much. The president sends his thanks,” Witkoff said, according to the Kremlin readout. “Because of you, he’s going home to his family,” he added, calling Putin “a humanitarian.”
Trump later said on social media that he had asked Putin to free Hubbard during a phone call the previous week. “Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family,” Trump wrote.
The United States did not have to provide anything in exchange, Trump said, describing the outcome as “an unprecedented situation for Russia.” He added that no prisoner “swap” was required.
Trump also defended his decision to lift numerous sanctions against Moscow. Had the sanctions remained in place, he said, negotiations over Hubbard’s release “would have come to a complete and total halt.”
Hubbard’s sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, told ABC News on Wednesday that she was thanking Trump “for being the hand of God and bringing Stephen Hubbard home.”
“He’s been gone a long, long time. Thank you President Trump for caring for everyday Americans,” she said. Fox called the news “awesome” and said, “the Lord has given me peace.”
Fox said she had not yet spoken with her brother or U.S. officials and learned of his release through the media. Hubbard is expected to be flown to San Antonio, home to a military facility where freed Americans are typically taken for treatment.
Witkoff’s visit came as the Trump administration moved closer to an agreement that could secure the release of several Americans detained in Russia, two U.S. officials and another person familiar with the discussions told ABC News.
The negotiations focused on Hubbard and other Americans imprisoned by Moscow on charges the administration considers questionable, the source said.
Hubbard had lived in eastern Ukraine as a civilian since about 2014. His family said he taught English there and was in a relationship with a Ukrainian woman.
Russian authorities later accused Hubbard of serving as a mercenary and fighting for Ukraine, ultimately sentencing him to nearly seven years in prison. His family and U.S. officials rejected the allegations, and the State Department classified him as wrongfully detained.
Witkoff and Putin also discussed Washington’s latest efforts to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s full-scale assault in February 2022.
“One thing that I hope to accomplish today is to have some good conversation between us about resumption potentially of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States,” Witkoff said, according to the Kremlin’s readout.
He also pointed to potential U.S.-Russian “business and economic cooperation,” calling it an indication of what future relations might make possible.
Witkoff flew to St. Petersburg after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb joined those discussions, which centered on ceasefire proposals aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine.
The trip marked Witkoff’s latest effort to shuttle between the parties as the White House increases pressure on Zelenskyy to accept concessions as part of a potential agreement with Moscow.
In recent weeks, Trump has removed a broad range of sanctions targeting Russia and again blamed Kyiv for the lack of progress in U.S.-backed peace negotiations. He has even suggested that Zelenskyy should be replaced as Ukraine’s president.
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S. had received “nothing” for its support of Ukraine.
“Look, we have given tremendous amounts to Ukraine. We’ve got nothing back other than high diesel,” Trump said. “We have given, probably, possibly, more money to Ukraine than almost anybody over the years, hundreds of billions of dollars. We’ve got nothing back, and the American taxpayers are tired of it. We want Zelenskyy to make a deal.”
Following his meetings in Oslo on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said in posts to social media that he was “thankful to the American side” for its input on propose future security guarantees for Kyiv. The Ukrainian president also said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone to discuss “sensitive issues such as Starlink, ballistic missile interceptors and intelligence.”
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he continued to hold meetings in Oslo. “A lot depends on whether the American side manages to hear something new from Russia today — about peace, not about continuing the war,” he wrote.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Shannon K. Kingston, Fritz Farrow, Nicholas Kerr, Emily Chang, Anna Sergeeva and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
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