Russia has released U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had spent more than four years in Russian detention after allegedly fighting for Ukraine, US envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed in a post on X. Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher, was freed from captivity and was at an airport waiting for a ride back to the US alongside Witkoff, who was in St. Petersburg meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I wanted to thank you very much. The president sends his thanks. Our whole nation sends its thanks,” Witkoff told Putin. “Because of you, he’s going home to his family.”
President Donald Trump later said the former teacher was “on his way back home” and “there was no ‘swap’ necessary”. After the release, Witkoff called Putin a “humanitarian.” The POTUS said he had been negotiating Hubbard’s release with Putin. “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. Let’s see what happens,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
