Putin Frees Jailed American as US-Russia Talks Focus on Ukraine

Russia has released 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard, who had been imprisoned on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, with US President Donald Trump saying the retired teacher was returning home after a direct request to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced Hubbard’s release during a meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Putin said Hubbard was at Pulkovo airport in the Russian city, where Witkoff had landed earlier that day, and Russian state media reported that the decision was made on humanitarian grounds.

Trump said on social media that he had asked Putin to release Hubbard during a telephone conversation the previous week. “Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family,” Trump wrote.

Trump said Washington had not been required to offer anything in exchange for Hubbard’s release, attributing the decision to respect for the US president. In a follow-up post, he said that without his decision to suspend new sanctions against Russia, the negotiations would have stopped entirely. The move to hold off on sanctions had drawn criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

Witkoff also thanked Putin during their meeting. “Because of you, he's going home to his family,” he said.

Hubbard’s son, Joseph Coleman, expressed gratitude to Trump and other US officials involved in securing his father’s freedom. “Never once did we waver as we prayed for success in these negotiations, and we must acknowledge that this humanitarian move by President Putin in this matter is deeply appreciated,” he said.

The US State Department had designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained. He was first imprisoned in 2022 and sentenced to nearly seven years following a closed-door trial in 2024. Russian prosecutors accused him of joining Ukraine’s military after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and fighting alongside Ukrainian forces until he was captured two months later. Hubbard denies the mercenary allegations, which hostage advocacy group Hostage Aid Worldwide has described as bogus.

Hubbard, a retired teacher from Michigan, spent decades working abroad as an English teacher. He moved to the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum in 2014, which Russian forces occupied at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Russian state media reported that prosecutors accused Hubbard of fighting for Ukraine after signing a contract worth about $1,000 per month. His sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, rejected the allegation as a lie. In an open letter to Trump published by Hostage Aid Worldwide in August, she also alleged that her brother had suffered "constant beatings, torture and starvation" in detention.

CNN said it could not immediately verify Hubbard’s whereabouts and had requested comment from the US State Department.

Hubbard is the second American released from Russian detention in roughly two months, following the August release of former US Marine Robert Gilman on humanitarian grounds. Gilman was seriously ill and severely emaciated when he returned to the United States on a specialized medical plane. The organization campaigning on his behalf said he had been tortured in Russian custody. He had been jailed on contested charges of assaulting a police officer.

Around two dozen other Americans remain in Russian prisons for various reasons, according to the Foley Foundation, which advocates for hostages and people wrongfully detained.

Andre Khachatoorian, an American of Armenian descent, was detained in 2021 and sentenced to eight and a half years for arms trafficking, charges he denies. He was arrested while traveling from the United States to Armenia via Moscow.

David Barnes was arrested in 2022. According to the Foley Foundation, his detention followed abuse allegations made by his former wife, who had taken their sons from Texas to Russia. The allegations had already been disproved twice by Texas officials, the organization said.

Aleksander Antonov, who came to the United States as a Soviet refugee and later became a naturalized citizen, was arrested in 2025 while attempting to cross from Russia into Estonia. The Foley Foundation said he was accused of “anti-Russian sentiment.” He was sentenced to six years in prison for inciting terrorism and extremism.

Olga Jezler, a permanent US resident, was arrested on drug trafficking charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2022. According to the Foley Foundation, she was carrying legal CBD oil into Russia for her sister, who was suffering from breast cancer, but Russian prosecutors deliberately classified the substance as hashish oil.

Chuck Zimmerman, described by supporters as a Navy veteran, was intercepted by the Russian navy while sailing in international waters. He was charged with arms trafficking because he had a firearm on board.

Hubbard’s release came as Washington and Moscow were discussing possible terms for ending the war in Ukraine, amid growing tensions between the Trump administration and Kyiv. Ukraine has accused Washington of restricting intelligence sharing on incoming Russian missiles, slowing vital Starlink services and delaying weapons deliveries.

Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Oslo, where they sought to reset relations with Washington with the help of Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

During his meeting with Putin, Witkoff said he had brought proposals for a possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Putin suggested discussing the restoration of bilateral relations between Washington and Moscow, as well as the possibility of trilateral talks involving Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The meeting was the ninth between Witkoff and Putin and followed Witkoff’s talks with Zelensky in Norway. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the Oslo meeting as positive, saying Witkoff would present the ideas discussed there to the Russian side.

Zelensky told Fox News he hoped the meeting between Witkoff and Putin would be productive and deliver a positive outcome. The European Union, whose member states were represented at the Oslo talks, said it expected Washington to brief it on the outcome of the discussions in Russia.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Berlin supported efforts to end the war as soon as possible, warning that Ukraine’s capitulation would amount to a capitulation by all.

Støre said Witkoff planned to return to Oslo for further consultations after his visit to St. Petersburg. Speaking to Norway’s public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday morning, he said he believed Moscow might now be looking for diplomatic opportunities.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was prepared to listen to proposals but did not expect any “miracle.” Trump reiterated on Tuesday that he wanted Zelensky “to make a deal.”