Russia frees American Stephen Hubbard as Trump envoy Witkoff meets Putin
Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a retired teacher from Michigan held since 2022, on Wednesday as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. Russia had convicted him on mercenary charges, which his lawyer says Hubbard calls false. The State Department had declared him wrongfully detained; he was the last American in Russia with that designation. He was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment at a military hospital. It is not clear what, if anything, the U.S. agreed to in return. Russian state TV said Putin proposed meeting President Trump in China during the talks.
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Why it matters
Hubbard was the only American held in Russia whom the State Department officially listed as wrongfully detained. His release came as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, a day after Witkoff's talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo.
Sources
- CBS News (citing AP): Stephen Hubbard released by Russia, Witkoff confirms
- ABC News: Witkoff arrives in St. Petersburg for Putin talks
- The News International: Russia frees US citizen Stephen Hubbard
- Reuters via Devdiscourse: Putin suggests he and Trump could meet in China
- Euronews (AFP): US envoy in Russia after 'positive' Zelenskyy meeting
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