Russia Frees American Teacher Stephen Hubbard
Vladimir Putin pardoned Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan held in Russia for more than four years, and handed him to President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff at St. Petersburg's airport. Trump said no prisoner swap was needed. The State Department says no Americans are now designated as wrongfully detained in Russia.
A 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan is on his way home after more than four years in Russian custody. President Vladimir Putin pardoned Stephen Hubbard after President Trump asked him directly, and Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, collected him at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg.
Hubbard was captured in 2022 and sentenced in 2024 to almost seven years in a penal colony. Russian prosecutors said he had served in a Ukrainian defense unit; his sister had said that was unlikely given his age and lack of interest in the military.
Trump said the release followed a request he "made directly" to Putin last week and that "there was no 'swap' necessary." In the past, Americans held in Russia have mostly come home through prisoner exchanges.
The State Department called the release "a welcome step" and said there are now no Americans determined to be wrongfully detained in Russia. CBS News reported that Hubbard is in poor health and was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment. His son, a Greek Orthodox priest, said he receives his father's freedom "as a gift of mercy."
St. Petersburg, Russia — Russia has freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher who had been held for more than four years, after President Vladimir Putin granted him a pardon. Hubbard was handed over to Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy, at the city's Pulkovo Airport for his return to the United States.
"He is currently at Pulkovo Airport," Putin told Witkoff at the start of their meeting at the Constantine Palace. Witkoff answered that Hubbard "is going home to his family" and that "we are going to meet him." Video obtained by CNN after the meeting showed Hubbard speaking with Witkoff at the airport.
How the release happened
The Kremlin said that because Trump and several members of his administration had repeatedly asked for Hubbard's return on humanitarian grounds, Putin "decided to grant him a pardon." Trump said it followed a request he "made directly" to Putin last week. "I mentioned, could you let Steven Hubbard out, please? And, he agreed to do it," Trump told reporters, adding that he had spoken to Hubbard and that "he is the happiest man around."
Trump wrote that the United States "was not required to give anything in return" and that "there was no 'swap' necessary for this release." Americans held in Russia have in the past mostly been freed in prisoner exchanges. Trump also linked the release to his decision to suspend new sanctions on Russia, writing that if sanctions had been imposed, the talks on Hubbard "would have come to a complete and total halt."
Who he is
Hubbard, from Michigan, was captured in eastern Ukraine in 2022, shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion, and was sentenced in 2024 to almost seven years in a penal colony. Russian prosecutors accused him of joining a Ukrainian military unit and receiving training and weapons. His sister, Patricia Fox Hubbard, had told Reuters that was unlikely because of his age and his lack of interest in the military. The State Department had classified him as wrongfully detained.
CBS News reported that Hubbard had been in poor health and was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment. Trump said his family was traveling with him. His son, Joseph Coleman, a Greek Orthodox priest, said: "As I await the blessing of embracing him again, I receive his freedom not as a political victory, but as a gift of mercy."
What Washington said
The State Department called the release "a welcome step that we hope leads to the release of all Americans unjustly held in Russia" and said "there are currently no Americans determined to be wrongfully detained in Russia."
Witkoff's thanks drew criticism from some Republicans after he told Putin, "You are a humanitarian also, sir." Representative Don Bacon called it "another embarrassment," and Senator John Cornyn called Putin "a stone cold killer." Vice President JD Vance said he cared "much less about what Steve said than about the fact that he is bringing an American hostage home to his family."