After more than four years in Russian custody, a retired American teacher is finally heading home.
Russia has released Stephen Hubbard, a retired teacher from Michigan who had been imprisoned on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, President Donald Trump said Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026.
How was Stephen Hubbard freed?
His release came during talks between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. The meeting was aimed at negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff announced the release during the talks and thanked Putin, telling him the whole country was grateful that Hubbard would be going home to his family.
Putin said Hubbard was already at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, ready to leave Russia, according to Russian state media. Witkoff said he planned to meet Hubbard at the airport. Pulkovo is the main airport serving St. Petersburg.
Trump had said a day earlier, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, that he asked Putin to free him.
Who is Stephen Hubbard?
Stephen Hubbard, who is 74, is originally from Big Rapids, Michigan. He spent decades teaching English abroad, including in Japan and Cyprus, according to his family.
He moved to the Ukrainian city of Izyum in 2014 and was living there when Russia invaded in February 2022. He lived on a small pension and had settled there with a Ukrainian partner.
Russian forces detained him in April 2022. Video later released by a Russian outlet appeared to show him bound and being beaten in the back of a military vehicle.
Why was Stephen Hubbard imprisoned?
A Moscow court convicted him in October 2024 of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine and sentenced him to nearly seven years in prison. Prosecutors claimed he joined a local defense unit and was paid to fight. He was the first American known to be convicted of fighting as a mercenary in the war.
He pleaded guilty, but his family disputed the confession, saying he was too old to fight. A Ukrainian police official said Hubbard had nothing to do with Ukraine’s armed forces.
The State Department designated him as wrongfully detained, meaning Washington viewed the charges as baseless. Russia also refused to grant American officials consular access to him. For a time, he was the only American held in Russia with that designation. His family struggled for months to locate him after his sentencing before he was found in a prison in Mordovia.
Ukrainians who were held with Stephen Hubbard reported that he faced harsh treatment in captivity.
What does the release mean for U.S. and Russia talks?
It comes amid delicate negotiations. Trump said last weekend that great progress was being made in talks with Moscow, including hostage negotiations, as he defended his decision to waive new sanctions on Russia.
The White House has said it hopes diplomacy can bring the war in Ukraine to an end. Critics argue that easing pressure on Moscow rewards Russia without guarantees.
Russia has detained several Americans in recent years, and some have been freed through prisoner exchanges. It was not immediately clear whether anything was offered in return for Hubbard’s release. In 2024, a major swap freed several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
What happens next for Stephen Hubbard?
He is expected to return to the United States to reunite with his family, including his sister, who campaigned publicly for his freedom. His sister had described him as a pawn caught up in a much larger conflict.
For Stephen Hubbard, the long ordeal appears to be over. His return marks another chapter in the uneasy diplomacy between Washington and Moscow.
