American Stephen Hubbard released by Russia, Steve Witkoff says

Stephen Hubbard, a U.S. citizen who was jailed in Russia for more than four years after being accused of fighting for Ukraine, has been released from custody, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed Wednesday during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. 

Trump administration officials, including Witkoff, were in St. Petersburg Wednesday for talks with Putin and other senior Russian officials that focused on the Ukraine war, but included other matters. Russian state news agencies, citing Putin, said Hubbard was at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport. 

Video from the meeting showed Witkoff thanking Putin for freeing the American. 

"I wanted to thank you very much. The president sends his thanks. Our whole nation sends it's thanks," Witkoff said. "Because of you, he's going home to his family."  

Hubbard, a 74-year-old Michigan native, was the last American in Russia whom the State Department had formally declared wrongfully detained. As many as 10 other Americans, including dual nationals, remain in Russian custody.

Hubbard, who is in poor health, was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment at a military hospital.

President Trump hinted at a possible breakthrough in the case on Tuesday, telling reporters in the Oval Office he had personally pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure Hubbard's release. 

"Everybody's been after Hubbard for a long time, long before I got here," Mr. Trump said. "I've been talking to President Putin about Mr. Hubbard. I've been talking to him at length. I've asked him to release him."

"I'd love to get him back," Mr. Trump added. "It's time to have Mr. Hubbard back."

A retired school teacher who served in the U.S. National Guard and Air Force, Hubbard was captured in Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Russian authorities accused him of manning a checkpoint for mercenaries. He was sentenced in 2024 to almost seven years in a penal colony.

Hubbard's family had little contact with him while he was detained, and they have maintained his innocence.

It was not immediately clear what the U.S. had agreed to, if anything, to secure Hubbard's release, which came after Mr. Trump announced Friday that his administration would waive some sanctions on Russia just two days before they were due to take effect. That decision by Mr. Trump was praised by Putin but criticized harshly by members of Congress, including some Republicans.  

Hubbard's release follows the return of American Robert Gilman, who was freed from Russian custody in August after his health deteriorated to a life-threatening condition. A former Marine who spent more than four years imprisoned in Russia, Gilman was granted a humanitarian pardon following a direct appeal by Mr. Trump to Putin. 

Early last year, Russia released American school teacher Marc Fogel, and in 2024 journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan were among those released from Russian custody in a complicated multi-country prisoner swap.

The State Department maintains a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory for Russia, warning U.S. nationals against all travel to the country due to the risk of wrongful detention, arbitrary enforcement of local laws and limited U.S. consular assistance. 

The Trump administration last year established a new designation for countries that are deemed "state sponsors of wrongful detention," CBS News previously reported. The measure gives the State Department expanded authority to impose sanctions, export controls and travel restrictions on countries that use detained Americans as political leverage.

Despite its lengthy history of imprisoning Americans on questionable charges, Russia has not faced the designation, which was applied to Iran in February and Afghanistan in March.

Some Americans jailed in Russia have not been declared wrongfully detained by the U.S. government, including Aleksandr Antonov, who was arrested in Russia last year and sentenced to six years in prison. 

His family argues that he was detained because he is a U.S. citizen, and they have urged the State Department to prioritize his case. CBS News reported earlier this year on an internal debate within the department over whether to designate him as wrongfully detained.