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Russia frees 74-year-old American after visit from Trump envoy
CNN • • general
Key Points:
- Stephen Hubbard, an American imprisoned in Russia for over four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, has been released following a visit by US special envoy Steve Witkoff to St. Petersburg.
- Hubbard, a retired Michigan teacher designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department, was reportedly freed after President Donald Trump raised his case with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- Russian prosecutors accused Hubbard of fighting in Izyum under a contract, a claim his sister denies, while Hubbard had lived in the region since 2014 before the 2022 conflict escalation.
- Hubbard's release follows the recent freeing of Robert Gilman, another American detainee in Russia, though many other US citizens remain imprisoned, with the State Department expressing hope for their release.
- Witkoff thanked Putin for Hubbard’s release, highlighting ongoing US diplomatic efforts to secure the freedom of wrongfully detained Americans in Russia.
