US citizen Stephen Hubbard freed by Russia and 'on his way home', Trump says
US envoy Steve Witkoff meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.
Quick Look
- President Vladimir Putin has agreed to release 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard, jailed in Russia since 2024.
- US envoy Steve Witkoff secured the release during talks in St Petersburg, which also touched on a new US-Russia diesel agreement.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Stephen Hubbard was sentenced to nearly seven years in 2024 after prosecutors accused him of serving in a defense unit in Izyum. The US State Department classified him as wrongfully detained.
President Vladimir Putin says Russia has agreed to release a 74-year-old American citizen who was jailed for allegedly fighting on behalf of Ukraine, state media is reporting.
Stephen Hubbard has been taken to Pulkovo Airport, Putin said, during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.
Hubbard, a former teacher originally from Michigan, was sentenced to almost seven years in a penal colony in 2024.
Prosecutors had accused him of serving in a defence unit in the eastern city of Izyum when he was captured by Russian forces, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years earlier.
The US State Department had previously classified Hubbard as "wrongfully detained", and on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said that he had raised his case with Putin.
"Watch what happens," Trump told reporters, "we have been focused on Hubbard".
CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, reported that Hubbard had been in poor health and was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment.
The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.
Russian state media reported that Witkoff had thanked Putin for Hubbard's release and, on Trump's behalf, for the deal struck with Washington earlier this month to import Russian diesel.
The first shipment under the agreement will leave Russia "in two to three days", Putin said during the meeting, as quoted by state news agency TASS.
The diesel deal has infuriated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and seen diplomatic relations between Kyiv and Washington further deteriorate.
During Wednesday's meeting in St Petersburg, Witkoff was filmed by Russian TV saying the deal was an example to Ukraine of what could be achieved by working together.
"Your decision to remove export controls on diesel oil from Russia, not just to the US but also to the world at large in the midst of an economic shock, I think that was really important that that happened," he said.
"I know [President Trump] is deeply grateful for it."
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
First shipment of Russian diesel under the new agreement will leave in two to three days
Likely · Within days
Open Questions
- When will Hubbard arrive in Texas?
- What are the full terms of the diesel agreement?
