Russia Frees American Stephen Hubbard as Trump Envoy Witkoff Meets Putin in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Oct. 21 (TodayViralUSA) — Russia on Wednesday released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American held for more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin for talks on ending the war.

Putin told Witkoff that Hubbard was already at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, according to Russian state news agencies. Video from the meeting showed Witkoff thanking the Russian leader. “The president sends his thanks. Our whole nation sends its thanks,” Witkoff said, CBS News reported. “Because of you, he’s going home to his family.”

Last American designated as wrongfully detained

Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher from Michigan who served in the U.S. National Guard and Air Force, was captured in Ukraine shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian authorities accused him of manning a checkpoint for mercenaries, a charge he denies, and a Moscow court sentenced him in 2024 to nearly seven years in a penal colony.

He was the last American in Russia whom the State Department had formally declared wrongfully detained, CBS News reported. As many as 10 other Americans, including dual nationals, remain in Russian custody. Hubbard, who is in poor health, was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment at a military hospital.

President Donald Trump had signaled a breakthrough on Tuesday, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he had pressed Putin “at length” on the case. “It’s time to have Mr. Hubbard back,” Trump said.

Release comes amid Ukraine peace push

It was not immediately clear what, if anything, Washington agreed to in exchange. The release followed Trump’s decision last week to waive new sanctions on Moscow two days before they were due to take effect, a move Putin praised and members of Congress from both parties criticized.

Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg after talks in Oslo on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of Norway and Finland. A U.S. official told NBC News that Ukraine brought new proposals to that meeting and that “meaningful progress” was made. The goal of the Putin meeting, held at the Constantine Palace, was to build on that progress and create a pathway toward direct negotiations, the official said.

Hubbard’s release follows the return in August of former Marine Robert Gilman, who was granted a humanitarian pardon after a direct appeal from Trump to Putin, and the release of American teacher Marc Fogel early last year.

Update — Oct. 21, 2026: Putin agrees to resume three-way talks

Following his roughly three-hour meeting with Witkoff at the Constantine Palace, Putin agreed “in principle” to restart trilateral negotiations with Washington and Kyiv after Nov. 10, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters. He said the talks would focus on “building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends.” Ushakov and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev joined the meeting, and Jared Kushner took part by video link.

The three countries held three rounds of trilateral talks earlier this year, in Abu Dhabi and Geneva, with little progress beyond prisoner exchanges. Zelenskyy told Fox News on Wednesday that freezing the conflict was the “minimum” needed to end the war, while Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Moscow may now be “looking for opportunities for diplomacy.” Witkoff was expected to return to Oslo for further consultations.