On October 21, Vladimir Putin announced the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American detained by Russian troops in the occupied city of Izium in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region in 2022. The retired teacher had been sentenced in Russia to six years and ten months in prison on mercenary charges, which he denied.
Putin made the announcement during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
During the meeting with Witkoff in St. Petersburg, Putin said that Stephen Hubbard was already at Pulkovo Airport. Witkoff, in turn, thanked the Russian president for releasing the American.
The previous day, Donald Trump confirmed that he had personally raised Hubbard’s case in conversations with Putin and hinted that there could be news about his release in the coming days.
What is known about Stephen Hubbard
Stephen Hubbard is a retired American teacher originally from Michigan. He earned a master’s degree in English and taught the language in Japan for 25 years. In 2014, Hubbard moved to the Ukrainian city of Izium with his Ukrainian partner.
Russian forces occupied the city in the spring of 2022. According to Russian state media, the American was detained in April of that year.
Hubbard told his lawyers that Russian soldiers had taken him directly from his home. He denied taking part in combat or serving in any military unit.
In October 2024, a Moscow court sentenced the American to six years and ten months in a penal colony on mercenary charges. Russian prosecutors alleged that Hubbard had joined Ukraine’s territorial defense forces, received a weapon and was supposed to earn $1,000 a month.
In June 2025, The New York Times reported that Hubbard was being held in a penal colony in Mordovia. Former Ukrainian prisoners of war told the newspaper that the American had been tortured because of his nationality.
According to their accounts, Hubbard was beaten, forced to stand for entire days, given insufficient food and denied adequate medical care.
According to Reuters, after his detention, the American was transferred between Russian detention facilities. His lawyers were only able to establish his whereabouts at a penal colony in Mordovia in April 2025.
In January 2025, the U.S. State Department officially designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained. Russia denied American diplomats consular access to him.
Hubbard’s case became one of the issues discussed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow. On October 20, Trump confirmed that he had discussed Hubbard’s release with Putin, and the following day the Russian president announced the decision to free the American.
