Stephen Hubbard, a 74‑year‑old retired teacher from Michigan, was arrested in Ukraine in June 2022 after the Russian invasion and later extradited to Russia, where prosecutors charged him with mercenary activity. In a closed trial in 2024, he received a sentence of nearly seven years, a verdict that critics say lacks evidence.\n
The United States, under President Joe Biden, classified Hubbard as wrongfully detained, a stance echoed by his attorneys at Boies Schiller Flexner and Russian firm EPAM Law. Hubbard’s sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, told the Associated Press that the charges were a ploy designed to target Americans.\n
On Wednesday, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg for talks with Russian officials. He met with President Vladimir Putin and praised the Russian leader as a humanitarian, while the two men discussed the full‑scale invasion of Ukraine.\n
During the meeting, Witkoff requested the release of Hubbard, a request Putin accepted without demanding a reciprocal prisoner swap. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said the decision was made on humanitarian grounds.\n
Hubbard, who had lived in Ukraine for several years before the war and had taught English abroad, was flown out of Pulkovo Airport after the pardon. His sister described the moment as a miracle and said he was laughing when she called him.\n
The release comes amid President Donald Trump’s recent moves that appear to favor Moscow, including a waiver of sanctions on Russian firms, and while U.S. relations with Kyiv remain strained.