Russia released Stephen Hubbard, an American teacher jailed since 2022, as Vladimir Putin met Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff for fresh Ukraine talks on Wednesday.
Zoom in: Hubbard, 74, was sentenced in 2024 to almost seven years in a penal colony after Russian prosecutors accused him of serving in a defence unit in eastern Ukraine. Putin said he had already been taken to Pulkovo Airport.
- Trump said Hubbard was "on his way back home" and that "there was no 'swap' necessary", a break from the prisoner exchanges that have freed most detained Americans in the past.
- Trump said the release followed a request he made directly to Putin last week: "I mentioned, could you let Steven Hubbard out, please? And, he agreed to do it."
What they're saying: Witkoff praised Putin at the table: "You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian: you are a humanitarian also sir, and I salute that. I commend you."
The other side: Republican lawmakers objected. Representative Don Bacon called the remark "another embarrassment" and Senator John Cornyn said Putin "is a stone cold killer". Vice-President JD Vance said Witkoff's "job is to go over there and get a job done".
The backstory: Hubbard's sister told Reuters the mercenary accusation was unlikely given his age and his disinterest in the military. The State Department had classified him as wrongfully detained, and CBS News reported he was in poor health and expected to fly to Texas for treatment.
- His son Joseph Coleman, a Greek Orthodox priest, said he receives his father's freedom "as a gift of mercy" and had prayed for years for the release.
Why it matters: The State Department now says there are no Americans determined to be wrongfully detained in Russia, which removes a bargaining chip that has shaped these talks for years. Zelensky posted that much depends on whether Washington hears something new about peace.
