Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher held for more than four years, on Wednesday after President Donald Trump asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to free him.
Trump announced the release in a Truth Social post early Wednesday. He said he made the request directly to Putin in a phone call last week. Fox News, the Washington Examiner and the New York Post reported the release.
What Trump said
“Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family,” Trump wrote. He said the United States “was not required to give anything in return” and that there was no prisoner swap.
In later posts, Trump blamed the Biden administration for not winning Hubbard’s release sooner. He also wrote that people who had pushed for new sanctions on Russia called to apologize, and that sanctions would have stopped the talks. iSEARK.com could not confirm who made those calls.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Russia on Wednesday. “Because of you, he’s going home to his family,” Witkoff told Putin, according to Fox News.
Who is Stephen Hubbard
- Background: Hubbard, 74, is a retired teacher from Big Rapids, Michigan, and a U.S. Air Force and National Guard veteran, the New York Post reported. He was living in eastern Ukraine when Russia invaded in 2022.
- Arrest: Russian forces detained him in April 2022 in Izyum, near Kharkiv.
- Conviction: A Russian court convicted him of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine in October 2024 and sentenced him to six years and 10 months. His lawyer has said the charges were false and that he was never in a military unit.
- U.S. status: The U.S. government designated him wrongfully detained in January 2025, which allowed officials to negotiate for his release.
What comes next
Trump said Hubbard is headed home to his family. The White House had not posted a statement on the release as of Wednesday morning. The release comes as the United States presses Russia and Ukraine to settle the war.
Sources: President Donald Trump on Truth Social; Fox News; Washington Examiner; New York Post.
