Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 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 .
Trump later confirmed he had asked Putin on a call in recent days, and Putin agreed. The prisoner release comes as President Donald Trump’s recent gestures toward Moscow, including a deal to buy Russian diesel and a waiver of new sanctions, have already sparked bipartisan pushback in the US Congress and worry in European capitals. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin had freed Hubbard, 74, at Trump’s request, and that he had also taken into account the American’s poor health.
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. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he supported the US proposal for three-way talks with Russia and the United States at the level of negotiators to be held as soon as possible, preferably by early November. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, who also met Witkoff, had earlier said the talks will likely happen in mid-November and focus on a potential post-conflict security structure.
Witkoff’s praise for Putin over Hubbard’s release was scorned by some in Washington. “Look up the definition of ‘humanitarian. “This was very surprising to him, but I did it, it really took place on a phone call at the end of last week with President Putin, so we appreciate it very much. And his family is extremely happy.”
What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say,” Republican US Senator Thom Tillis said in an X post directed at the US envoy. “He is the happiest man around,” Trump said of Hubbard.
