Russia frees American Stephen Hubbard during Witkoff visit to St Petersburg

Russia has released American citizen Stephen Hubbard while US envoy Steve Witkoff was in St Petersburg for talks with President Vladimir Putin. The release was confirmed during the meeting on Wednesday, with Putin saying Hubbard had been taken to Pulkovo Airport. US President Donald Trump later said Hubbard was on his way home and that no prisoner swap was required.

Hubbard, 74, is a former teacher from Michigan who had been held in Russia since 2022. Russian prosecutors accused him of fighting alongside Ukrainian forces after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and he was sentenced in 2024 to nearly seven years in prison after a closed-door trial. The US had designated him as wrongfully detained, and his release came after Trump said he had spoken directly to Putin and urged him to free Hubbard.

The timing of the release gives the episode wider diplomatic significance because it came during direct US-Russia contact over the war in Ukraine. Witkoff told Putin that the US president and the American people were grateful for Hubbard's release, and he described Putin as a humanitarian for allowing him to leave. Putin's financial adviser Kirill Dmitriev was also present at the meeting, underlining the political weight of the encounter.

The case has been closely watched because Hubbard was one of the few Americans held by Russia on charges linked to the war. In previous cases, detained Americans have often been released through prisoner exchanges, but Trump said that was not necessary here. He also linked the outcome to his own direct appeal to Putin, saying the release followed a request he had made last week.

Hubbard's detention dates back to April 2022, when Russian authorities said he was captured in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum. Prosecutors alleged that he had joined a Ukrainian territorial defence unit, received training and weapons, and been promised payment. His family and lawyer have disputed that account, saying the charges were false and that he was not involved in combat or any military unit.

The release also comes against a broader backdrop of strained relations between Washington and Kyiv, and of US policy moves that Ukraine has said have favoured Moscow. Trump has recently taken steps that included waiving sanctions on Russia imposed by legislation passed by the US Congress to support Ukraine. He has also announced a deal to import Russian diesel fuel, a move he said was aimed at easing high gas prices before the US midterm elections.

For Russia, the case fits a pattern of using detained foreigners as part of a wider diplomatic landscape shaped by the war. For the United States, Hubbard's release is a rare concrete outcome from direct engagement with Moscow at a time when negotiations over Ukraine remain unsettled. It also highlights the continuing role of special envoys and back-channel diplomacy in efforts to secure detainee releases.

Hubbard's family had previously said he had been living in Ukraine before the invasion and had been in poor health while in detention. His sister had publicly disputed the Russian allegations, saying he was not the kind of person likely to take up arms. The release now raises questions about whether it could affect other detainee cases or broader talks between Washington and Moscow.

What remains unclear is whether the release signals any wider shift in Russia-US relations or in the talks over Ukraine. It is also not known whether the move was tied to any separate understandings beyond the public statements made by Trump, Putin and Witkoff. The next developments to watch are Hubbard's return home, any further US-Russia detainee contacts, and whether the diplomatic channel used in St Petersburg leads to additional concessions.

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