ST PETERSBURG, Russia, – Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired US schoolteacher in custody since 2022, from prison on Wednesday and took him to St Petersburg to fly back to the United States, after talks that Washington said were a step toward ending the war in Ukraine.
A video shared with Reuters showed Witkoff and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev meeting Hubbard, who wore a dark fleece and was clean-shaven, in an undisclosed location. “Because of you he’s going home to his family.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made the announcement at a meeting in St Petersburg with US envoy Steve Witkoff, who later said the talks will continue toward planned technical-level discussions involving the US, Russia and Ukraine. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin had freed Hubbard at the request of US President Donald Trump, and had also taken into account the American’s poor health. “The president sends his thanks, our whole nation sends their thanks, because of Stephen Hubbard,” Witkoff told Putin in a meeting shown on state TV. He shook Witkoff’s hand and said: “Thank you very much for all your efforts. “Today he seemed light in his step, a sense of happiness in his voice”, Coleman said.
Witkoff’s praise for Putin over Hubbard’s release was scorned by some in Washington. What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say. “The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return — an unprecedented situation for Russia. There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release.
Republican US Senator Thom Tillis said in an X post directed at the US envoy: “Look up the definition of ‘humanitarian. This major return should have taken place long ago through the Biden Administration, which got nowhere in its negotiations with the Kremlin,” the post said.
