Putin: American Stephen Hubbard freed
A retired English teacher in his 70s, was sentenced in a closed trial in October 2024 to nearly seven years in prison for ‘mercenary work’ on behalf of Ukraine.
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American taken captive by Russian forces years ago in Ukraine, during a meeting with United States special envoy Steve Witkoff, news agencies reported.
Putin had said that Hubbard was at Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg, Russian news agencies reported, adding that Witkoff, who was meeting with the Russian president in the city, had thanked Putin for the release.
Hubbard, a retired English teacher in his 70s, was sentenced in a closed trial in October 2024 to nearly seven years in prison for “mercenary work” on behalf of Ukraine, a charge he denies.
Wednesday’s announcement came as US President Donald Trump’s special envoy met to brief Putin on his meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo a day earlier, which Witkoff described as “productive.”
Trump had said on Tuesday that he had asked Putin for Hubbard’s release.
“I’ve been talking to him at length. I’ve asked him to release him. Let’s see what happens,” Trump told journalists in Washington.
On Wednesday, Witkoff said Trump and “our whole nation sends their thanks because of Stephen Hubbard,” calling Putin a “humanitarian.”
Meanwhile, a tanker carrying Russian diesel will depart for the US on Thursday, state media quoted Russia’s deputy prime minister as saying, in the first such shipment under a US-Russia diesel deal.
“The first tanker is scheduled to leave port tomorrow... to the United States,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying by the state-owned TASS news agency on Wednesday.