THE BARE STORY
Russia released Stephen Hubbard, an American retired teacher from Michigan whom the U.S. State Department had designated as wrongfully detained, during a meeting Wednesday between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Hubbard, 74, had been held by Russia since his capture in Ukraine in 2022. Russian authorities convicted him in 2024 and sentenced him to nearly seven years in prison on allegations that he acted as a mercenary for Ukraine. U.S. officials and Hubbard’s family had said the charges were false.
Witkoff thanked Putin for Hubbard’s release. President Donald Trump said he had requested Hubbard’s release in a telephone call with Putin the previous week and that no prisoner exchange was involved. Hubbard was taken to Pulkovo Airport, according to accounts of the meeting, and was expected to return to his family.
The Witkoff-Putin discussions also addressed the war in Ukraine and possible future negotiations involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine must participate directly in any agreement concerning the conflict.
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