Mr. Hubbard was jailed for claiming that Russia fought alongside Ukrainian forces against Russia.
Published October 21, 2026
American Stephen Hubbard has been released from a Russian prison and is on his way home after US President Donald Trump announced his administration had secured his release.
“Steven is on his way home and will soon be with his family,” President Trump wrote in a social media post Wednesday, adding that the United States does not have to give anything in return for the release of the 74-year-old former teacher from Michigan.
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The agreement was announced during a visit to Russia by a U.S. special envoy and days after President Trump took a series of actions deemed beneficial to Russia.
Hubbard’s family said he had been living in Ukraine before Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022, but after being tried and convicted in a closed-door trial, Russian prosecutors said Hubbard had signed a contract with the Ukrainian military and fought alongside them before his capture. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2024.
The United States declared Mr. Hubbard an unlawfully detained American.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is in Russia to talk with President Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine war, said “the entire nation is grateful” and described Putin as a “humanitarian” for allowing Hubbard to be released. After his release, Mr. Witkoff met briefly with Mr. Hubbard in St. Petersburg and told him, “Today is a new life for you.”
The release comes at a dynamic moment in U.S.-Ukrainian-Russian relations, with tensions between Washington and Kiev, and as the Trump administration pursues policies that it says Ukraine has rewarded President Vladimir Putin.
That includes President Trump’s decision last week to exempt Russia from sanctions imposed by the Ukraine Assistance Act, which was overwhelmingly passed by Congress.
The bill, named after the late South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, targets the financial streams that fuel Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The reversal comes after President Trump announced a deal to import Russian diesel fuel in a bid to curb soaring gasoline prices ahead of next month’s U.S. midterm elections.
