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Stephen Hubbard, seen here in a court hearing, was accused of serving as a mercenary for Ukraine against Russia in the course of the military conflict. (Reuters: supplied)
In short:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has freed a US teacher accused of serving as a mercenary against Russia in 2022
The gesture of goodwill kicked of talks between the Kremlin and Washington amid a visit from US special convoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday, local time.
What's next?
Washington and the Kremlin have signalled the talks are aimed at bringing an end to the Ukraine-Russia war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old US citizen held in Russian custody since 2022, had been freed and was at Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg.
Mr Putin did not give further details in comments published by Russian state media on Wednesday, local time.
He made the announcement during a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.
Mr Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher from Michigan, had been serving a nearly seven-year prison sentence in Russia after being convicted of mercenary activity at a closed-door trial.
He was arrested in April 2022 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, where Russian prosecutors alleged he had been manning a Ukrainian military checkpoint.
Russian state media reported he pleaded guilty to the charges. But his US-based lawyer, Martin De Luca, previously told Reuters Mr Hubbard had said the charges were false and that he was not part of any combat or military unit.
At the time of his release, Mr Hubbard was the only US prisoner held by Russia who was designated by Washington as "wrongfully detained".
Mr Witkoff thanked the Russian president for the gesture of goodwill.
The talks in St Petersburg, the ninth time that Mr Witkoff has met Mr Putin in person, are intended to review new ideas on ending the war in Ukraine amid Washington's latest push to stop Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II.
The meeting comes amid concerns in Kyiv and among its allies that the United States is backing away from Ukraine, at times holding back real-time intelligence on Russian attacks and hobbling Ukraine's military communications.
The latest talks came more than two years after US President Donald Trump promised in his successful election campaign to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours.
Mr Witkoff flew into Russia's second city on Wednesday morning, a day after conducting what a US official called "constructive" talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leaders of Finland and Norway and European and NATO representatives, as Mr Trump said it was time for Ukraine to end the war or face "a very bad thing".
The encounter comes amid concerns in Kyiv and among its allies that the United States is backing away from Ukraine, at times holding back real-time intelligence on Russian attacks and hobbling Ukraine's military communications.
The latest talks came more than two years since US President Donald Trump promised in his successful election campaign to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours.
Reuters