Russia has released a retired American teacher who had been imprisoned on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
The deal comes at a time when President Donald Trump has taken actions meant to benefit Moscow.
Stephen Hubbard, of Michigan, was sentenced after a closed trial in 2024 to nearly seven years in prison. Prosecutors said he had signed a contract with the Ukrainian military after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and that he fought alongside them until being captured two months later.
The U.S. government under the Biden administration designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained.
Witkoff thanked Putin for releasing Hubbard, telling him, “Because of you, he's going home to his family.” The Russian leader responded that Hubbard was at the St. Petersburg airport, Pulkovo, after the release.
Witkoff has tried without success to steer Russia and Ukraine toward a settlement to end a war that will hit the five-year mark in February. Trump foreshadowed a release earlier in the week, 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."
The release occurred at a dynamic moment in relations between the United States, Ukraine and Russia, with the Washington-Kyiv alliance being stretched by tensions over drone support as the Trump administration advances policies that aid Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He decided Friday, for instance, to waive sanctions on Russia in a bill that Congress overwhelmingly passed to support Ukraine. Named after late South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, the legislation targeted the flow of financial resources fueling Russia's war.
That reversal followed Trump's announcement of a deal to import Russian diesel fuel in a long-shot effort to curb high gas prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections next month.
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