Russia releases American Stephen Hubbard after Trump appeal

Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American retired teacher, as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on October 21. President Donald Trump said he had personally asked Putin to free Hubbard and that no prisoner swap was required. Hubbard was detained in 2022 and sentenced in 2024 after a Russian court convicted him on charges of fighting for Ukraine. Trump said Hubbard was on his way home and would soon reunite with his family. Putin said Hubbard had been taken to Pulkovo Airport. Trump described the release as requiring nothing in return, but that account of the arrangement has not been independently established. He also said imposing sanctions on Russia would have halted negotiations over Hubbard’s release, defending his decision to suspend sanctions. Russian prosecutors accused Hubbard of serving in a Ukrainian military unit and fighting as a mercenary. His U.S.-based lawyer said the charges were bogus, and Hubbard’s family disputed that he had served or fought. The supplied accounts do not independently establish whether Hubbard took part in combat. Hubbard, from Michigan, had been sentenced to nearly seven years in prison...