Oct. 21 — Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has announced the release of Stephen Hubbard, a citizen of the United States, who was accused of serving as a mercenary for Ukraine in the Kharkiv region in 2022, Reuters reported. 

Putin made this statement at the beginning of talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine with Steve Witkoff, the US President Donald Trump’s special envoy.

On Oct. 20, Trump said that he had been talking with Putin about the American who was wrongfully detained by Russia’s law enforcement. 

“Watch what happens. We have been focused ⁠on ​Hubbard,” Trump said. 

Who is Stephen Hubbard? 

Stephen Hubbard, 74, is a retired schoolteacher. He grew up in the city of Big Rapids in Michigan. According to The New York Times, he also served in ‌the US Air Force and National Guard. 

In 2014, Hubbard moved to Izium, the city in the southern Kharkiv region, with his Ukrainian wife Inna. His sister Fox said that when Hubbard needed money, he taught English online. 

In 2022, shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces occupied Izium. Russian law enforcement seized Hubbard from his home, dragging him into captivity during the occupation of the city, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia accused Hubbard of serving as a mercenary

In October 2024, a Moscow court sentenced Hubbard to six years and 10 months in prison on charges of “serving as a mercenary in Ukraine.” 

Russian prosecutors said Hubbard joined the Ukrainian territorial defense unit. They alleged that he underwent military training, received weapons and equipment, and was promised $1,000 a month from the Ukrainian officials. 

In February 2025, The New York Times reported that Russian law enforcement moved Hubbard ​through at least five Russian prisons before his trial. In April 2025, his lawyer said that Russia held Hubbard in a Mordovia prison.

Ukrainian prisoners of war who were held in Russian captivity with Hubbard said that Russian forces repeatedly tortured him, forced him to stand all day, gave him little food, and did not provide him with medical care — all because he is American. 

Washington has accused Russia of inventing criminal charges against Americans, like Hubbard, to use them in exchanges for Russians detained in other countries.

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