By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump welcomed recently released American prisoner Stephen Hubbard to the White House on Friday, Oct. 30, after securing his freedom from Russia through a personal appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, ending more than four years of imprisonment for the retired Michigan teacher.
Hubbard, 74, met with Trump in the Oval Office approximately one week after returning to the United States. He described his prolonged imprisonment, the uncertainty surrounding his release and his disbelief when Russian authorities finally allowed him to leave.
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The former teacher had been detained since 2022 and sentenced to nearly seven years in a Russian prison after authorities accused him of serving as a mercenary for Ukraine during the war. His attorneys have denied those allegations, maintaining that he did not participate in military activities.
According to The Associated Press’ coverage of Friday’s meeting, Trump said he had personally requested Hubbard’s release during a conversation with Putin and that the United States did not have to release a Russian prisoner in exchange.
“He was somebody I wanted to get back,” Trump said while welcoming Hubbard.
The president described the request as an impromptu appeal to the Russian leader.
“It was just a spur of the moment. I said, ‘Do me a favor. Will you let Steve, Stephen Hubbard, let him out?’ And they were very nice in that regard,” Trump said.
During the meeting, Trump asked Hubbard how long he had been imprisoned.
“Four and a half,” Hubbard replied.
“Four and a half years. Well, it’s a long time. That’s a long time,” Trump responded.
The exchange was captured in footage distributed by Reuters, which documented the president’s meeting with the former prisoner in Washington.
Hubbard told Trump that he had repeatedly heard promises that he would be released, but those assurances had eventually lost their meaning after years in detention.
“I had heard it many times before and I reached the state where seeing is believing,” Hubbard said. “Actions speak louder than words.”
He explained that he did not believe his imprisonment was actually ending until Russian authorities provided him with new clothing and escorted him out of the prison.
“Only when they started giving me new clothes and leading me to the exit of the prison,” Hubbard told Trump. “I went out and I saw the car, and I was accompanied by a couple of Russians, then I believed, finally believed, on the drive from Moscow to St. Petersburg, ‘I’m really going somewhere.’”
The former prisoner also described deteriorating conditions during his captivity, which left him uncertain whether he would survive much longer.
“I wouldn’t have lasted another year,” Hubbard said, according to The Detroit News’ report on the White House meeting.
Trump welcomed Hubbard and his family to the Oval Office, expressing appreciation that the former prisoner had returned safely.
“It’s an honor to have you and your family … standing right in front of the Declaration of Independence,” the president said.
Hubbard was living in eastern Ukraine when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian authorities subsequently detained him near the conflict zone and accused him of participating in combat on behalf of Ukrainian forces.
Prosecutors claimed Hubbard had entered into an agreement to serve with Ukrainian military forces in exchange for compensation. A Russian court convicted him in October 2024 and imposed a sentence of six years and 10 months in a penal colony.
His legal representatives disputed the charges, arguing that he was a civilian who had not joined Ukraine’s armed forces or participated in combat.
The U.S. State Department later designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained, making his release a subject of American diplomatic efforts.
The case drew attention because of his age, the length of his detention and the conditions associated with imprisonment during the ongoing war.
His family had expressed concerns about his health and whether he would survive long enough to return to the United States.
Hubbard’s release followed renewed diplomatic discussions between Washington and Moscow.
On Oct. 20, Trump publicly confirmed that he had personally raised Hubbard’s detention with Putin and suggested that a development could occur soon.
“Just stick with me,” Trump told reporters when asked about Hubbard. “I don’t want to talk about it, but everybody has been after Hubbard for a long time, long before I got here.”
The president added that his administration had made the American’s release a priority.
“Watch what happens. We have been focused on Hubbard,” he said, according to Reuters’ report on the discussions.
Hubbard was subsequently released Oct. 21, with the Kremlin characterizing the decision as a humanitarian goodwill gesture.
Russian authorities did not announce a prisoner exchange involving Hubbard, and Trump said no American concessions were required to secure his freedom.
The release occurred amid continuing American diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Trump has maintained communication with Putin while also pressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to pursue a negotiated settlement.
The administration has sought to balance diplomatic engagement with Moscow against sanctions and other measures intended to pressure Russia over its military operations.
During Friday’s meeting, Trump discussed economic sanctions with Hubbard, indicating that some advisers had encouraged additional restrictions while he was seeking the prisoner’s release.
“While I was negotiating for you, stupid people wanted me to put sanctions on Russia,” Trump said.
“Russians laugh at these sanctions,” Hubbard responded, according to iHeartRadio’s account of the meeting.
The comments reflected the president’s view that maintaining direct communication with Moscow had helped secure Hubbard’s freedom.
Hubbard’s release also follows other efforts to bring Americans home from Russian detention.
In February 2025, the Trump administration secured the release of Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania teacher who had been imprisoned in Russia since 2021 on drug possession charges involving medically prescribed marijuana.
Fogel subsequently met Trump at the White House after returning to the United States.
In August 2026, Marine veteran Robert Gilman was also released from Russian custody following diplomatic efforts.
Hubbard’s return represents another successful prisoner-release negotiation, although additional Americans remain detained in Russia under various criminal allegations.
Human rights organizations and prisoner advocacy groups have urged continued attention to Americans held overseas, particularly those designated by the State Department as wrongfully detained.
According to CBS News’ reporting on Hubbard’s White House visit, the retired teacher returned to the United States shortly before the meeting and was invited to speak personally with the president.
The White House permitted a limited group of journalists and photographers to observe the Oval Office gathering.
Hubbard used the meeting to describe how his captivity had affected him and to express gratitude for the efforts that brought him home.
He said repeated assurances of release had made him reluctant to trust new promises, particularly after spending years in prison under difficult conditions.
The former prisoner recalled hearing military activity during his detention and described the psychological impact of living with uncertainty about his future.
His account illustrated the challenges faced by Americans imprisoned abroad, including limited contact with family, difficult conditions and dependence on diplomatic negotiations for their release.
The president emphasized that Hubbard’s freedom had resulted from his direct request to Putin and repeated that no prisoner exchange had been necessary.
Hubbard, meanwhile, described his return as an experience he had once doubted would happen, telling Trump that his disbelief persisted until he physically left the Russian prison and began traveling toward freedom.
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