Russia Frees American Teacher Stephen Hubbard After Four Years in Prison

Russia has released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American retired teacher who spent more than four years in detention over accusations that he fought for Ukraine, in a move announced on Wednesday during talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.

US President Donald Trump said he had asked Putin to release Hubbard during a telephone conversation the previous week, adding that Washington did not have to release anyone in return for his freedom. Trump welcomed the development in a social media post, saying Hubbard was on his way home to reunite with his family.

Putin announced the release at the start of his meeting with Witkoff, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the matter had been raised by the American side for some time and that the Russian president had approved the release on humanitarian grounds. Neither side announced a prisoner exchange linked to Hubbard's freedom.

Hubbard, who is from Michigan, was arrested in April 2022 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium, which was captured by Russian forces following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian prosecutors accused him of joining a Ukrainian military unit and fighting against Russian forces in exchange for payment.

He was convicted in October 2024 after a closed-door trial and sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison. Russian authorities said he had signed a contract with a Ukrainian military formation and served alongside its forces before his capture.

However, Hubbard's US-based lawyer, Martin De Luca, disputed the allegations, telling Reuters that Hubbard had said he was not a member of any combat or military unit and that the charges against him were false. The US government under former President Joe Biden subsequently designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained, a classification used in cases Washington considers unjust or arbitrary.

The circumstances of Hubbard's arrest and conviction have drawn attention partly because he was a retired schoolteacher who had lived abroad for decades. According to Reuters, he spent about 25 years teaching English in Japan before moving to Cyprus and later settling in Izium in 2014 with his Ukrainian partner.

Hubbard's release came as Witkoff visited Russia for discussions with Putin on efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The US envoy thanked the Russian president for allowing Hubbard to return to his family, while the Kremlin presented the decision as a humanitarian gesture.

The timing also places the release within a broader period of diplomatic engagement between Washington and Moscow, despite continuing disagreements over Russia's war against Ukraine. The two governments have previously negotiated high-profile releases of detained Americans, including the August 2024 exchange that brought home journalist Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and other prisoners held in Russia.

Hubbard's case differs from that exchange because Trump said the United States had not been required to surrender another detainee in return. The public statements surrounding Wednesday's announcement did not disclose any other concessions connected to his release.

His freedom also does not resolve the cases of other Americans still held in Russian prisons. The Associated Press reported that several remain in custody, including some with serious medical conditions, while advocacy groups have called for further efforts to secure their release.

For Hubbard and his family, the announcement ends a detention that began during the early months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and culminated in a disputed conviction under Russian law. Diplomatically, his release offers a limited but tangible outcome from direct engagement between Washington and Moscow, even as negotiations over the wider conflict continue without a comprehensive settlement.