Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, got released from Russian custody on Wednesday. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin and secure the freedom of Hubbard, who had been held since 2022. Witkoff said he felt gratitude to Putin for the release of Hubbard.
President Donald Trump's designated special envoy, Steve Witkoff, travelled to Russia on Wednesday to engage in discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and facilitate the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired educator from Michigan who had remained in Russian custody since 2022, as reported by Russian state-controlled media outlets.
Witkoff arrived in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning, a confirmation provided by a Kremlin spokesperson, in preparation for the scheduled engagement with Putin.
Trump's envoy expressed gratitude to Putin for the release of Hubbard, according to an official statement regarding the meeting disseminated by Russia's state-controlled RIA Novosti news organization. Putin said that Hubbard, who had been apprehended in eastern Ukraine in April 2022, was transported to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, the statement noted.
A spokesperson from the Kremlin, Yuri Ushakov, informed members of the press on Wednesday that Witkoff was scheduled to hold discussions with Putin at Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg during the morning hours, according to statements carried by Russian state media outlets.
Witkoff's arrival in St. Petersburg coincided with the Trump administration's advancement toward finalizing an agreement intended to secure the release of multiple American citizens currently detained within Russia, as confirmed by two U.S. government officials and an additional source with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke with ABC News.
The negotiations focused on Hubbard and numerous other American nationals imprisoned by the Russian government on charges that the administration contends are without legitimate foundation, ABC News reported, citing a source.
Stephen Hubbard is a 74-year-old former teacher from Big Rapids, Michigan. His professional background includes service in both the United States Air Force and the National Guard, as documented in military records reviewed by the New York Times.
Hubbard obtained a master's degree in English literature and spent approximately 25 years residing in Japan, where he worked as an English instructor. Later, he relocated to Cyprus before establishing residence in Izyum, located in eastern Ukraine, in 2014, accompanied by a Ukrainian partner, as reported by his sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox.
According to Fox's statement to Reuters in 2024, Hubbard maintained a modest lifestyle supported by a monthly pension of approximately $300 and had limited social engagement with the local community. Communication between the siblings ceased following their last conversation in September 2021.
Hubbard had resided in eastern Ukraine as a civilian since approximately 2014, where he was employed as an English instructor and maintained a relationship with a Ukrainian woman, according to his family.
Following his detention, Russian authorities levied charges against Hubbard alleging mercenary activities and combat participation on behalf of Ukraine, resulting in a sentence of nearly seven years imprisonment. Hubbard's family members and U.S. government officials contested these allegations as unfounded, and the State Department formally classified him as wrongfully detained.
Martin De Luca, Hubbard's attorney based in the United States, communicated to Reuters in June 2025 that Hubbard had informed him the charges were unfounded and that he had not participated in any combat or military operations. De Luca further stated that Hubbard claimed Russian military personnel had forcibly removed him from his residence.