Russia released retired Michigan teacher Stephen Hubbard on Wednesday after President Donald Trump appealed directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin, ending more than four years in Russian custody. Trump said the United States gave nothing in exchange for Hubbard’s freedom.
Hubbard was captured in 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A Moscow court sentenced him to nearly seven years in prison in 2024 on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. His family disputed the allegations, and Washington designated him wrongfully detained, explained Fox News.
“Stephen Hubbard, taken four years ago by Russia during the Biden Administration, was just released from prison, at the request of President Donald J. Trump, made directly to President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation last week,” Trump wrote Wednesday on Truth Social.
The president said Hubbard was headed home and credited his direct negotiations with Putin for securing the release without a prisoner exchange.
“Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family. The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return — an unprecedented situation for Russia. There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release. This major return should have taken place long ago through the Biden Administration, which got nowhere in its negotiations with the Kremlin. Stephen is on his way back home.”
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff thanked Putin during a meeting Wednesday in St. Petersburg, telling the Russian leader that “because of you, he’s going home to his family.” Witkoff described Hubbard as “a 75-year-old man” and called Putin a “humanitarian.”
Trump had previewed the possible breakthrough Tuesday. “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,” he told reporters, adding, “Let’s see what happens.”
In a subsequent post Wednesday, Trump defended his approach to Russia, saying people who had demanded immediate sanctions had called to apologize after learning about the negotiations. “If sanctions would have been placed, certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt,” he wrote. He added: “Biden should have done the Hubbard release long ago! What a difference a President makes!”
Hubbard’s release came as Witkoff pressed Putin to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine. During Wednesday’s meeting, Putin also raised the possibility of a summit in China with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, extending diplomatic contacts as Washington seeks an agreement to end the war.
