Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard on Wednesday, at the start of talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff. The 74-year-old retired teacher had been serving a prison sentence in Russia after a court convicted him of being a mercenary in Ukraine.
Hubbard's case drew attention because of his age, the circumstances surrounding his capture and conflicting accounts of his alleged involvement in the war.
Who is Stephen Hubbard?
Hubbard grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan, and served in the US Air Force and National Guard, according to military records cited by *The New York Times*.
He later earned a master's degree in English and spent 25 years in Japan teaching the language. He subsequently moved to Cyprus before settling in Izyum, a city in eastern Ukraine, in 2014 with a Ukrainian partner, his sister Patricia Hubbard Fox told Reuters.
Fox said in 2024 that her brother lived on a pension of around $300 a month and had limited contact with local residents. The siblings last spoke in September 2021.
How was Hubbard captured?
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and captured Izyum two months later. Ukrainian forces recaptured the city in September that year, but Hubbard was already in Russian custody.
Russian state media reported that he had been detained in April 2022 and alleged that he was manning a Ukrainian military checkpoint. Reuters could not independently establish the circumstances of his capture.
Fox said she recognised her brother in a YouTube video showing a man being questioned about his views on Putin and the war. A separate video appeared to show the man with his hands bound and being struck with a sandal. Reuters could not verify when or where the footage was recorded.
Why was he imprisoned in Russia?
In October 2024, a Moscow court convicted Hubbard of being a mercenary following a closed trial and sentenced him to six years and 10 months in prison.
Prosecutors alleged that he had joined a Ukrainian territorial defence unit, received training, weapons and ammunition, and been promised a monthly payment of $1,000. Russian state media reported that he had pleaded guilty.
His sister questioned that account, saying Hubbard held pro-Russian views and was unlikely to have taken up arms at his age.
Martin De Luca, Hubbard's US-based lawyer, told Reuters in June 2025 that his client denied the allegations. According to De Luca, Hubbard said he had never belonged to a combat or military unit and that Russian soldiers had taken him from his home.
What happened during his detention?
The US State Department designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained in January 2025, allowing Washington to pursue efforts to secure his release. The department said Russia had denied US officials consular access to him.
The New York Times reported in February 2025 that Hubbard had been transferred between at least five Russian detention centres before his trial.
His legal team learnt only in April 2025 that he was being held at a facility in the Mordovia region, east of Moscow, De Luca said.
Putin's announcement on Wednesday marks a significant development in Hubbard's case. Further details of the circumstances of his release were not immediately available in the information provided.