Russia frees Stephen Hubbard; Trump says no swap

Russia released Stephen Hubbard on Wednesday after more than four years in detention, freeing a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan whose imprisonment the United States had declared wrongful. Russian forces seized him in eastern Ukraine in April 2022.

The announcement of Hubbard's release came from a Wednesday meeting between Steve Witkoff and President Vladimir Putin.

President Donald Trump said he had directly asked President Vladimir Putin to free Hubbard during a telephone call the previous week. Trump said, "The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return" and that "There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release."

Former ambassador John Herbst challenged the claim that the release was cost-free. According to NBC News, he said it followed the freeing of Russian war blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk after the United States did not seek his extradition. Herbst regarded that as an effective exchange, rather than a free gift to Washington.

The disputed mercenary case

A Moscow court convicted Hubbard of mercenary activity in a closed trial in October 2024 and sentenced him to six years and 10 months in prison. Russian prosecutors alleged that he joined a Ukrainian territorial-defense unit, received training, weapons and ammunition, and was promised $1,000 (£746.67) a month.

The State Department called the charges fabricated. Hubbard’s legal team, including Martin De Luca, disputed the Russian account, saying Hubbard maintained that the charges were false and that he had not belonged to a combat or military unit.

His family argued that his pro-Russian views and his age made it unlikely he had taken up arms. His sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, rejected the mercenary allegation and accused Russia of using her brother as bait in Putin’s war with Ukraine.

Fox alleged that Hubbard suffered beatings and starvation in captivity and said he now has an enlarged heart. She said he had been in perfect health when detained in 2022 and that "He really thought he was going to die in prison."

Martin De Luca said Hubbard was in a fragile state but was OK.

Diplomacy and its costs

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin released Hubbard on humanitarian grounds. Steve Witkoff thanked Putin and praised him as a humanitarian, linking that description to his role in allowing Hubbard to return to his family.

Trump said imposing sanctions on Russia would have caused negotiations over Hubbard’s release to halt completely. He argued more broadly that engagement and commercial arrangements with Moscow were intended to keep Russia in peace negotiations and benefit American consumers.

Vox argued that recent benefits delivered to Russia, including sanctions waivers and a diesel arrangement, undercut Trump’s portrayal of a cost-free release. Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued that the diesel arrangement was a gift to Putin that would help finance Russia’s war.

Witkoff said technical-level trilateral talks would follow his meeting with Putin. The Kremlin said it had agreed in principle to resume those U.S.-Russia-Ukraine negotiations around November 10, focusing on how to guarantee the security of Ukraine and Russia.

Witkoff described discussions in Oslo as productive and said they had laid the groundwork for a successful end to hostilities. Yuri Ushakov said those talks contained little useful material for resolving the war, according to Axios.

For Hubbard’s family, Joseph Coleman said Putin’s humanitarian move was deeply appreciated. Speaking on the family’s behalf, he said relatives had feared Hubbard would die without seeing his children or grandchildren again.

Fox told The Associated Press that, when she spoke with Hubbard after his release, he was laughing and could hardly believe it was happening. She said the family was anticipating a reunion and that Hubbard would probably live with her in Colorado.