Stephen Hubbard Set to Return to US After Russian Release
Constantvpn.com – Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old US citizen imprisoned in Russia after being accused of fighting for Ukraine, has been released and is expected to return to the United States. President Donald Trump said Hubbard was already travelling home after a request made directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hubbard had been held in Russia since the early stages of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A former teacher from Michigan, he was convicted in 2024 and given a sentence of nearly seven years in a penal colony.
“There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release,” Trump said.
The US government had previously designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained. That classification is used when Washington believes an American’s imprisonment abroad is unjust and requires sustained diplomatic attention.
Detention followed fighting around Izyum
Russian prosecutors alleged that Hubbard had joined a Ukrainian defence unit in Izyum, a city in eastern Ukraine. He was captured by Russian forces shortly after the invasion began in 2022, during a period when control of the area was fiercely contested.
His case drew concern because of his age and reports about his health. Hubbard was expected to be taken to Texas for medical treatment after arriving in the United States.
Trump had signalled shortly before the release that negotiations involving Hubbard were advancing. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he said his administration had been concentrating on the case.
“Watch what happens,” Trump said. “We have been focused on Hubbard.”
Russian state media said Hubbard had been brought to Pulkovo Airport near St Petersburg. His release was discussed during a Wednesday meeting between Putin and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy.
Release comes during wider US-Russia contacts
The Hubbard case unfolded alongside broader diplomatic exchanges between Washington and Moscow. During the meeting in St Petersburg, Witkoff thanked Putin for the American’s release and also referred to a recent agreement involving Russian diesel exports.
Putin said the first shipment under that arrangement would depart Russia within two or three days. The deal followed an agreement earlier in the month to import Russian diesel, a move that became a significant point of tension in relations involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
Witkoff described the diesel agreement as an illustration of what cooperation could achieve. He praised Putin’s decision to ease export controls on diesel during a period of economic disruption.
“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,” Witkoff told Putin.
“I know [President Trump] is deeply grateful for it.”
The agreement angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose government has continued to resist Russia’s invasion with Western support. The diesel arrangement also came amid a difficult period in US-Ukraine relations, marked by disputes over sanctions, intelligence cooperation and political pressure on Kyiv.
Trump suspended several sanctions targeting Russia and said Ukraine should hold an election for a new leader. Zelensky’s government accused Washington of pausing intelligence sharing related to lethal Russian attacks, arguing that the interruption had cost Ukrainian lives. The US rejected that allegation as scandalous.
Ukraine says intelligence cooperation has resumed
Zelensky said on Tuesday that intelligence sharing was functioning again after talks with Witkoff in Oslo. The US described those discussions as positive, offering a sign that communication between Washington and Kyiv may be improving despite their recent disagreements.
For Hubbard’s family and supporters, his release represents the end of a long period of uncertainty. Americans detained in countries with hostile or strained relations with Washington can become central figures in wider diplomatic negotiations, even when their cases are handled separately from formal prisoner exchanges.
Trump’s insistence that no swap was required is significant because it frames Hubbard’s return as a direct humanitarian release rather than part of a reciprocal arrangement. It also places the outcome within a larger effort by the administration to engage with Putin while the war in Ukraine continues.
Hubbard’s return will likely be watched closely for further information about his health and the conditions of his confinement. His case remains a reminder that individual detainees can be deeply affected by international conflict and by the shifting state of relations between their home country and the government holding them.
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