Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired US schoolteacher from Michigan who was accused of joining the Ukrainian armed forces and had been held by Russia since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has been freed in what is being framed as a goodwill gesture from the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Hubbard's release on October 21 as be began his latest round of talks -- their ninth meeting -- with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, which focused on negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.
Putin said Hubbard, the only US prisoner held by Russia with the designation by Washington as "wrongfully detained," was at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, where he will fly back to the United States with Witkoff.
Shortly afterward, US President Donald Trump confirmed Hubbard's release, saying he would soon be reunited with his family. "Welcome home, Stephen. It's great to have you back," he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said he had "requested" Hubbard's release during a phone call with Putin last week and that Washington "was not required to give anything in return," describing the Kremlin's move as "unprecedented."
Following the latest call between the US and Russian presidents, Trump announced a deal to encourage Russian diesel exports and waived sanctions that were due to be imposed under a law he signed last month. Kyiv and its Western allies had warned that these developments could further fuel Moscow's war machine.
Hubbard was detained by Russian forces in April 2022. He was later sentenced by the Moscow City Court in October 2024 to six years and 10 months in prison on charges of being a mercenary.
Russian prosecutors claimed that he had fought for Ukraine's territorial defense forces in the northeastern Kharkiv region, which was then heavily occupied by Russian forces, under a contract worth $1,000 per month.
Hubbard's family, particularly his sister Patricia Fox, had previously expressed doubts about the accusations, stating that Hubbard had long been sympathetic to Russia and had moved to Ukraine in 2014.
Fox revealed that Hubbard had lived in the city of Izyum after splitting up with his Ukrainian girlfriend and was there when the war broke out. She also pointed to a video released in May 2022, in which Hubbard was seen commenting on the war.
In the video, he claimed to have witnessed Ukrainian forces shelling Izyum for "propaganda purposes," and expressed understanding for Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.
It remains unclear under what circumstances the video was made, raising questions about whether Hubbard was coerced into making the statements. There were no reports or official statements about his arrest or how he ended up in Moscow.
The subject of US citizens being held in Russian prisons has become a prominent political issue in recent years, with many viewing their cases as part of a broader pattern of Americans being used as leverage in wider geopolitical disputes.
Hubbard's release came ahead of November's US midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress, and amid protracted negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv to end Russia's full-scale invasion.
The two sides remain far apart on the terms of a potential settlement, with the Kremlin offering no concessions and sticking to its hard-line demands.
Under Trump, as well as his predecessor, Joe Biden, Moscow and Washington conducted several major swaps of prisoners held in US and Russian prisons. But Moscow still holds several US citizens, whose cases have yet to be resolved.
According to Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer at Global Reach, an advocacy group, who spoke with RFE/RL earlier this year, at least five Americans remain in Russian detention. Other reports put the number as high as 10.
"We are grateful to the Trump Administration for reuniting Stephen Hubbard with his family," Lebson said in a statement on October 21. "But at the same time, we know that there are five other families of Americans held in Russia who are going to have a hard time understanding why their loved one was not included in the deal."
