Russia Frees Stephen Hubbard, Last Wrongfully Detained American, as Witkoff Meets Putin
President Trump says Putin agreed to release the 74-year-old Michigan retiree at his request and that the U.S. gave nothing in return, but Witkoff's praise of Putin as a 'humanitarian' is drawing fire.
Russia on Wednesday released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American who had been jailed for more than four years, and President Trump confirmed that Hubbard is on his way home. The announcement came while U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg for talks on the war in Ukraine.
Trump said Putin agreed to the release at Trump's request, made in a phone call last week. He said no prisoner swap was needed and that the United States gave nothing in return. Russian state news agencies, citing Putin, said Hubbard was at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport. Trump and Witkoff shared a photo of Hubbard aboard a plane with U.S. officials. Hubbard is in poor health and is expected to be flown to a military hospital in Texas for treatment.
Hubbard is a retired school teacher from Michigan who served in the National Guard and the Air Force. He was captured in Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian authorities accused him of manning a checkpoint for mercenaries, and in 2024 he was sentenced to almost seven years in a penal colony. His family, who had little contact with him during his detention, has always maintained his innocence. He was the last American in Russia the State Department had formally declared wrongfully detained.
On video of the meeting, Witkoff thanked Putin and told him, "Because of you, he's going home to his family." He also praised Putin as a humanitarian, a remark that drew immediate backlash, with critics calling it embarrassing and outrageous.
The release lands in the middle of a fight over Russia policy. Five days earlier, Trump waived some sanctions on Russia just before they were due to take effect. Putin praised the move, while members of Congress, including some Republicans, criticized it harshly. In a later post, Trump linked Hubbard's release to the sanctions decision, claiming that imposing the sanctions would have halted the negotiations.
It is the latest in a string of releases secured through direct appeals to Putin. Robert Gilman, a former Marine, was freed in August after his health deteriorated, following a personal request from Trump. Marc Fogel was released early last year, and in 2024 Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan came home in a multi-country prisoner swap.
As many as 10 other Americans, including dual nationals, reportedly remain in Russian custody. Among them is Aleksandr Antonov, who was sentenced to six years after an arrest last year. He has not been declared wrongfully detained, and his family is urging the State Department to make his case a priority.
The State Department still maintains a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory for Russia. The Trump administration created a "state sponsors of wrongful detention" designation last year. Iran and Afghanistan have received it, but Russia has not.
