Stephen Hubbard, an American who had been imprisoned in Russia for more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, has returned to the United States after he was freed by Moscow following a direct plea from President Donald Trump.
Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher, was captured in occupied eastern Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and accused of fighting for Kyiv in what his family and the State Department said were fabricated charges.
Hubbard is now at a military facility in San Antonio, Texas, where he will participate in a program to support his reacclimation after his detention in Russia, a US official told CNN on Thursday.
His release in Russia was announced as US special envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin for talks aimed at advancing peace efforts in Ukraine.
Witkoff thanked Putin for Hubbard’s release, calling Russia’s president – who is subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant and has clamped down on opposition at home – a “humanitarian.”
Hubbard spent decades abroad teaching English. He moved to the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum in 2014, which was occupied by Russian forces at the start of its war against Ukraine in 2022.
A video shared with CNN showed Hubbard meeting Witkoff and Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev at the Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Hubbard was seen in the video standing and walking on his own. His family previously expressed concerns over his health.
Witkoff told Hubbard, who had spent years in Russian prison, that Putin “sends you blessings and wishes you good things.”
While Trump said the US was not required to give Russia anything in return, Hubbard’s release comes as the president faces accusations of cozying up to Moscow at the expense of Ukraine.
The Trump administration’s relationship with Kyiv has been strained in recent weeks, as Ukraine accused the US of limiting intelligence sharing on incoming Russian missiles, slowing down vital Starlink services and delaying weapon supplies.
Exacerbating Kyiv’s frustrations, Trump waived some sanctions against Russia last week – a move which drew bi-partisan criticism in the US.
Posting on social media on Wednesday, Trump said that “out of respect for President Trump” Russia didn’t require anything in return for Hubbard’s release. But in a separate post later, he said “if sanctions would have been placed, certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt.”
Hubbard’s son Joseph Coleman thanked Trump and other US officials for securing his father’s release. Trump spoke with Hubbard shortly after the former schoolteacher was freed, and the president posted a picture of Hubbard and his family holding an American flag aboard the plane home.
“Never once did we waver as we prayed for success in these negotiations, and we must acknowledge that this humanitarian move by President Putin in this matter is deeply appreciated,” Coleman said.
Coleman said that he was able to speak briefly with his father after his release, describing him as being in “good spirits.”
“He didn’t talk about his time in prison. He just expressed gratitude that he was out,” Coleman told CNN. “He was very happy that I was going to be able to meet with him here in DC and that Thomas, my half brother, his other son, would be here.”
There are no plans for Hubbard to meet with Trump immediately following his arrival due to Hubbard’s health, his US-based lawyer, Martin De Luca, told CNN, but they could possibly meet in the coming weeks “when he’s feeling better.”
Hubbard is the latest American to be freed from Russian detention.
In August, Robert Gilman was released from Russian detention for humanitarian reasons amid severe concerns about his health. The Marine veteran was severely emaciated when he arrived back in the US on a specialized medical plane. The organization advocating on his behalf said Gilman had been tortured in Russian detention.
But many other Americans remain imprisoned in Russia:
A State Department spokesperson said they hope Hubbard’s release “leads to the release of all Americans unjustly held in Russia.”
“This Administration will continue to work for the release of all Americans unjustly detained in Russia,” they said. The spokesperson noted that “there are currently no Americans determined to be wrongfully detained in Russia.”
CNN’s Lauren Kent, Darya Tarasova, Anna Chernova, Arina Porkhovnik, Zahra Ullah and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
