Russia released American citizen Stephen Hubbard on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, following a meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, had been detained for more than four years over allegations that he fought for Ukraine against Russian forces, according to CNN and NBC News.
Russian state news agencies reported the release after the Witkoff-Putin meeting.
TASS quoted Putin saying Hubbard was at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, where Witkoff had arrived earlier that day.
US authorities had not immediately confirmed the release, NBC News reported.
Detention and Sentencing
Hubbard was 72 when Russian authorities sentenced him in 2024 to nearly seven years in a penal colony.
Russian prosecutors alleged that he joined a defense unit in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum and received approximately $1,000 a month under a contract.
Russian forces captured him in 2022, according to the BBC.
Hubbard had lived abroad for decades while working as an English teacher.
He moved to Izyum in 2014, and the city came under Russian occupation following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
His sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, rejected the accusation against him as false, CNN reported. The US State Department had designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained.
Before Witkoff's visit, a US official described securing Hubbard's freedom as part of the administration's efforts to bring detained Americans home.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he had raised Hubbard's case with Putin. Witkoff subsequently thanked the Russian president for the release, according to CNN.
Diplomatic Push on Ukraine
The release came as Washington pursued renewed diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
Witkoff's meeting with Putin followed discussions in Oslo between US negotiators, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.
A US official told NBC News that Ukraine had presented new proposals and that the discussions had achieved meaningful progress.
Trump continued pressing Kyiv to reach an agreement with Moscow. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said: "We want Zelenskyy to make a deal.
We've given a lot to Ukraine. We've gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the Oslo discussions as constructive but cautioned against expecting immediate breakthroughs.
He said Witkoff would present the proposals to Russian officials, adding that the administration would "let's see if we can make some progress."
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Ukraine would be the central issue during the discussions at Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev was also expected to participate, while Jared Kushner was expected to join the meeting virtually.
Zelenskyy said a potential meeting involving the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the United States had emerged as one of the proposals discussed in Oslo.
Putin has maintained that a meeting with Zelenskyy could occur only after an agreement had been finalized and should take place in Moscow, conditions Ukraine has rejected.
Moscow has also maintained demands that include control over the entire eastern Donbas region.
Other disputes continued to complicate US-Ukrainian relations.
Trump signed a diesel fuel agreement with Russia earlier in October and waived new sanctions on Moscow, according to NBC News.
Ukraine also raised concerns about restrictions affecting its military communications and said Russian attacks were intensifying against energy infrastructure ahead of winter.
Zelenskyy said security cooperation with Washington had improved following recent concerns.
He told reporters: "We are thankful that intelligence works now — I am speaking about early warning systems, which are very important for our people, for our children and civilians."
Despite the diplomatic activity, fighting continued. At least nine civilians were killed across Ukraine on Wednesday in Russian attacks, according to NBC News.
Authorities in Russia's Bryansk region also reported that one person died in a Ukrainian strike.
Hubbard's release followed another American's return from Russian detention in August, when Robert Gilman was freed on humanitarian grounds amid serious concerns about his health.
Advocacy groups said Gilman had suffered mistreatment in custody.
Several other Americans remained imprisoned in Russia.
Andre Khachatoorian, detained in 2021, was sentenced to eight and a half years for arms trafficking, charges he denies.
David Barnes was arrested in 2022 after allegations made by his former wife, who had taken their sons from Texas to Russia, according to the Foley Foundation.
Aleksander Antonov, a naturalized US citizen who came to America as a Soviet refugee, was arrested in 2025 while attempting to cross from Russia into Estonia.
The Foley Foundation said he was accused of anti-Russian sentiment and sentenced to six years for inciting terrorism and extremism.
Olga Jezler, a US permanent resident, received a 10-year sentence in 2022 for drug trafficking.
According to the Foley Foundation, she was carrying legal CBD oil intended for her sister, who had breast cancer, but Russian prosecutors classified the substance as hashish oil.
Chuck Zimmerman, a Navy veteran according to his supporters, was also detained after Russian naval forces intercepted his boat in international waters; he faced arms-trafficking charges related to a firearm aboard the vessel.
