Russia released an American who had been imprisoned for more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine on Wednesday, a deal struck amid a visit by a top US ambassador and during a time when President Donald Trump has taken moves to benefit Moscow.
Trump told White House reporters that he had urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to free Stephen Hubbard in a recent call and that, unlike past releases, the US did not have to hand up anyone. Trump called the 74-year-old former Michigan teacher “very high-quality, innocent man” and “happiest man around.
Hubbard was released during US envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to St. Petersburg, where he met Putin and praised him as a “humanitarian” as they discussed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s push for a cease-fire.
Hubbard, who lived in Ukraine for years before his arrest, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in 2024 after private court proceedings. After Russia invaded in 2022, he obtained a contract with the Ukrainian military and fought alongside Kyiv’s forces until his capture two months later, according to prosecutors.
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