Retired Michigan teacher Stephen Hubbard, 74, is returning to the United States following a personal request from President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Moscow granting his release during renewed diplomatic negotiations over the war in Ukraine.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
An American citizen imprisoned in Russia since the opening months of the Ukraine war was freed Wednesday, Oct. 21, after President Donald Trump personally intervened with Russian President Vladimir Putin, bringing an end to more than four years of detention without a prisoner exchange.
Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, was released as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg for high-level negotiations with Putin concerning the war in Ukraine. Russian officials described the decision as a humanitarian gesture, while Trump announced that Washington had not been required to release a Russian prisoner or provide another concession in exchange for Hubbard’s freedom.
“Welcome home, Stephen, it’s great to have you back,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social message celebrating the release.
Putin announced the decision during his meeting with Witkoff, informing the American envoy that Hubbard had already been transferred to St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport. The release followed a telephone conversation between Trump and Putin the previous week, during which the American president raised Hubbard’s case and requested that he be allowed to return home.
According to Reuters, Hubbard had been held by Russian authorities since April 2022 after being captured in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium. Russian prosecutors accused him of working with Ukrainian military forces against Russia, allegations disputed by his family and American legal representatives.
Hubbard’s departure marks the second release of an American detainee from Russian custody in approximately two months. It also represents a diplomatic development for the Trump administration as Washington attempts to restart negotiations aimed at ending a conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Witkoff thanked Putin during their meeting and credited the Russian leader with authorizing Hubbard’s return to his family.
“Because of you, he’s going home to his family,” Witkoff said.
The American envoy went further in his remarks, acknowledging Putin’s decision as an act of humanitarian consideration.
“You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir,” Witkoff said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov subsequently confirmed that Hubbard’s detention had been discussed between Russian and American representatives for an extended period. He said Putin had decided to grant the release based on “humanitarian considerations,” including the prisoner’s circumstances.
Peskov said the matter had been “raised by the American side for a certain time,” indicating that the decision followed previous contacts rather than arising solely from Wednesday’s meeting.
The spokesman also acknowledged continuing communication between the two countries’ security agencies.
General contacts “continue on a regular basis between the intelligence services,” Peskov said.
Hubbard’s release concludes a detention that began amid the rapid Russian military advance into eastern Ukraine during the first months of the invasion. The retired American teacher had been living in Ukraine when Russian troops captured him in April 2022.
Moscow accused Hubbard of signing a contract with Ukrainian military forces and participating in territorial defense operations against Russian troops. Prosecutors alleged that he had served at a Ukrainian checkpoint near Izium, where Russian forces took him into custody.
His case eventually proceeded through the Russian court system, culminating in a closed-door trial in 2024. Hubbard was convicted of mercenary activity and sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison.
Russian state media reported that Hubbard had admitted guilt, but his American attorney, Martin De Luca, disputed the government’s characterization of the case. De Luca said his client denied participating in military operations or joining a Ukrainian combat unit.
Hubbard’s family also maintained that the allegations were false and repeatedly sought assistance from American authorities to secure his release.
The Biden administration designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained, a classification used by the U.S. government when officials determine that an American’s imprisonment abroad meets established criteria for diplomatic intervention.
The designation placed his case within a specialized federal process for seeking the return of Americans whose detention is considered improper. At the time of Wednesday’s release, Hubbard was the only American remaining in Russian custody who carried that official designation.
His relatives and advocates had long expressed concerns about his age, health and treatment in prison, warning that continued detention could jeopardize his life.
Those concerns became particularly urgent during the summer, when relatives appealed publicly to the Trump administration for stronger intervention.
In August, Hostage Aid Worldwide, an organization advocating for Americans detained overseas, published an open letter attributed to Hubbard’s sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox. The letter described serious concerns about his treatment in Russian custody and urged Trump to secure his freedom before his condition deteriorated further.
Fox alleged that her brother had endured “constant beatings, torture and starvation” while imprisoned. Those allegations could not be independently verified, but they illustrated the fears his family had repeatedly communicated to American officials.
“Even so, everything that you’re doing isn’t going to matter to my kidnapped, American Veteran brother, Stephen James Hubbard (soon to be 74) if Putin won’t cave and let him come home and he dies up there in a Nazi prison (crying),” the letter stated.
The family maintained that Hubbard had been unjustly imprisoned and required urgent assistance because of his age and deteriorating health.
Wednesday’s announcement brought relief to supporters who had spent years urging successive American administrations to negotiate his return.
The release occurred during a period of renewed diplomatic activity involving Washington, Moscow and Kyiv, with the Trump administration pressing both sides to consider proposals intended to end the war before its fifth anniversary in February 2027.
Before traveling to Russia, Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo, Norway, on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The discussions included representatives of European governments and focused on potential arrangements for ending the fighting and establishing security guarantees.
The American envoy traveled to St. Petersburg carrying proposals developed through those consultations, with the goal of determining whether Moscow would agree to resume direct negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
According to Axios reporting on Wednesday’s talks, Witkoff presented Putin with an updated diplomatic framework and requested the resumption of three-party negotiations. The Kremlin subsequently indicated that Putin had agreed in principle to renewed talks after Nov. 10, although substantial disagreements remained over territory and security arrangements.
The discussions took place against a backdrop of continuing Russian military operations in Ukraine and growing disagreements between Washington and Kyiv over the terms of a possible settlement.
Trump has repeatedly pushed Ukrainian officials to accept compromises that he argues are necessary to end the conflict. Zelenskyy has maintained that any agreement must address Ukraine’s security and sovereignty while preventing further Russian attacks.
The diplomatic developments have also coincided with significant changes in American economic policy toward Moscow.
Last week, Trump waived sanctions imposed under legislation that Congress had approved with overwhelming bipartisan support to increase financial pressure on Russia. The measure, associated with the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, sought to restrict revenue streams supporting Moscow’s military operations.
The decision to suspend those sanctions was accompanied by an announcement that the United States would begin importing Russian diesel fuel as part of an effort to reduce domestic energy prices.
The administration has promoted the arrangement as a potential means of easing fuel costs before the November congressional elections. However, the extent to which Russian diesel imports could influence American gasoline and diesel prices remains uncertain.
The policy changes have prompted questions about whether Washington is reducing economic pressure on Moscow while seeking concessions in peace negotiations.
Trump has maintained that his diplomatic strategy is intended to produce a negotiated end to the war. His administration has also pointed to the release of detained Americans as evidence that direct engagement with Putin can deliver results.
The decision to free Hubbard without an announced prisoner exchange distinguishes his case from previous arrangements in which Russia released Americans in return for Russian nationals held by Western governments.
In August, Russia freed former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, who had been imprisoned following disputed allegations that he assaulted a police officer. Gilman had experienced serious health problems during his detention.
Other Americans have also returned from Russian custody through diplomatic negotiations and prisoner exchanges. Former teacher Marc Fogel was released in February 2025 after spending more than three years in Russian custody following a drug-related conviction.
Despite those releases, several Americans remain imprisoned in Russia, including individuals whose families and legal representatives dispute the allegations against them.
The advocacy organization Global Reach, which works to secure the freedom of Americans detained abroad, welcomed Hubbard’s release but emphasized that the government must continue pursuing the return of other prisoners.
The organization said it currently represents five Americans held in Russia and expressed concern that families whose relatives remain incarcerated would struggle with the news that another prisoner had been freed while their own cases remained unresolved.
“We are grateful to the Trump Administration for reuniting Stephen Hubbard with his family, but at the same time, we know that there are five other families of Americans held in Russia who are going to have a hard time understanding why their loved one was not included in the deal,” Eric Lebson, Global Reach’s chief strategy officer, said in a statement.
Advocates have called for broader use of the U.S. government’s wrongful detention designation, arguing that additional American prisoners meet the criteria for diplomatic intervention.
The classification can affect the resources and diplomatic attention devoted to a detention case, but Americans who do not receive it may still receive consular assistance and other forms of government support.
Hubbard’s release was welcomed across organizations that had followed his case, particularly because of concerns about his medical condition and the length of his imprisonment.
For his family, the decision ends more than four years of uncertainty surrounding his confinement following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
For Washington and Moscow, the release demonstrates that limited humanitarian agreements remain possible even as the two countries continue negotiating over the much broader military and geopolitical issues surrounding the conflict.
Whether Wednesday’s meeting produces progress toward ending the war remains uncertain. Russia and Ukraine continue to disagree over territorial control, security guarantees and the conditions under which hostilities might cease.
Putin’s decision to free Hubbard, however, provided an immediate outcome from the latest diplomatic contacts and allowed an American previously designated as wrongfully detained to begin his journey home.
The Associated Press reported that the release was completed while Witkoff was meeting Russian leaders in St. Petersburg, with American officials confirming that the retired teacher was no longer in Russian custody.
Hubbard is now returning to the United States after more than four years of imprisonment, while negotiations over the Ukraine war and efforts to free other detained Americans continue.
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