Russia frees 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard captured in occupied Ukraine

By Jennifer Hansler, Ivana Kottasová, CNN

(CNN) — Russia has freed an American imprisoned in Russia for more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, with US President Donald Trump saying he is “on his way back home.”

Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, was designated by the US State Department as wrongfully detained.

Posting on social media on Wednesday, Trump said Hubbard “was just released from prison, at the request of President Donald J. Trump, made directly to President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation last week. Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family.”

Trump said the US did not have to give Russia anything in return, “out of respect for President Trump.” But he added that if he had not waived sanctions on Russia last week, a move which drew bi-partisan criticism, “certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt.”

Hubbard’s son Joseph Coleman thanked Trump and other US officials for securing his father’s release.

“Never once did we waver as we prayed for success in these negotiations, and we must acknowledge that this humanitarian move by President Putin in this matter is deeply appreciated,” he said.

Witkoff also personally thanked Putin for Hubbard’s release, saying “I want to thank you very much, the president sends his thanks … the whole nation sends their thanks because of Stephen Hubbard. Because of you, he’s going home to his family.”

Putin said during the meeting that Hubbard was at Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, the same airport that Witkoff landed at earlier on Wednesday. He made the decision to release Hubbard “for humanitarian reasons,” Russian state media reported.

CNN could not immediately confirm Hubbard’s whereabouts. CNN has asked the US State Department for comment.

Hubbard spent decades abroad as an English teacher. He moved to the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum in 2014, which was occupied by Russian forces at the start of its war against Ukraine in 2022.

According to Russian state media, Russian prosecutors alleged that Hubbard fought in Izyum for the Ukrainian military after signing a contract for about $1,000 per month. His sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, said that the accusation was a lie.

Other Americans still in Russian prisons

Hubbard is the latest American to be freed from Russian detention.

In August, Robert Gilman was released from Russian detention for humanitarian reasons amid severe concerns about his health. The Marine veteran was severely emaciated when he arrived back in the US on a specialized medical plane. The organization advocating on his behalf said Gilman had been tortured in Russian detention.

But many other Americans remain imprisoned in Russia:

• Andre Khachatoorian was detained in 2021 and sentenced to eight and half years for arms trafficking – charges he denies. Khachatoorian, an American of Armenian descent, was arrested while traveling from the US to Armenia via Moscow.
• David Barnes was arrested in 2022. According to the Foley Foundation, which advocates for American hostages and wrongful detainees, he was detained after his ex-wife, who kidnapped his sons from Texas to Russia, made allegations of abuse that had already been disproven twice by Texas officials.
• Aleksander Antonov, who came to the US as a Soviet refugee and has since become a naturalized US citizen, was arrested in 2025 when attempting to cross the border from Russia into Estonia. According to the Foley Foundation, he was accused of “anti-Russian sentiment,” the Foley Foundation said. He was sentenced to six years for inciting terrorism and extremism.
• Olga Jezler, a permanent US resident, was arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2022. According to the Foley foundation, she was carrying legal CBD oil into Russia for her sister who was struggling with breast cancer and Russian prosecutors deliberately misclassified the substance as hashish oil.
• Chuck Zimmerman, who is described by his supporters as a Navy veteran who was intercepted by the Russian navy while sailing in international waters. He was charged with arms trafficking for having a firearm on board.

Hubbard’s release on Wednesday came at a tense time in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The Trump administration’s relationship with Ukraine has been strained in recent weeks, as Kyiv accused Ukraine of limiting intelligence sharing on incoming Russian missiles, slowing down vital Starlink services and delaying weapon supplies.

Witkoff came to Moscow straight after a summit with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, where the two attempted to reset the relationship, with the help of Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

This story has been updated.

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CNN’s Lauren Kent, Darya Tarasova, Anna Chernova, Arina Porkhovnik, Zahra Ullah and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.