Russia frees Stephen Hubbard, 74, as Witkoff meets Putin

Update, October 22, 2026

• No swap, says Washington. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, 21 October, President Donald Trump said he had asked Putin for Stephen Hubbard's release in a phone call the previous week. He added that the United States "was not required to give anything in return" and that there was "no 'swap'" necessary, according to Fox News (report updated 17:37 UTC) and ABC News (20:47 UTC). ABC News also reported that Witkoff said the release "was not part of an exchange." Al Jazeera reported that Trump also spoke with Hubbard by phone.
• Hubbard has left Russia. Witkoff posted a photo of Hubbard apparently aboard a jet bound for the United States, ABC News and Fox News reported. His sister told ABC News he would be flown to San Antonio, Texas, where released Americans are usually received for medical care. As of 21:13 UTC on 21 October, no report of his arrival on US soil had been published.
• Talks on Ukraine to resume. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin had agreed "in principle" to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States after 10 November, focused on post-war security arrangements, the Associated Press reported at 13:56 UTC. Jared Kushner joined the meeting by video link, according to Ushakov. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, reported that Abu Dhabi has been proposed as the venue.
• Backlash over "humanitarian" remark. Witkoff told Putin, "You are a humanitarian also, sir." Several senators criticised the remark, CBS News reported at 21:13 UTC. They included Republicans Thom Tillis, who called it "embarrassing and outrageous," and John Cornyn. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly called Putin a "war criminal," according to Al Jazeera. Vice President JD Vance defended Witkoff. Trump said the comment was made for the purpose of freeing Hubbard and that he "wouldn't say anything one way or the other," CBS News and ABC News reported.

Key takeaways

• Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American held since 2022, on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, according to Russian state media and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
• The release came during a meeting between Witkoff and President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, convened mainly to discuss the war in Ukraine. After the meeting, the Kremlin said Russia was ready in principle to resume trilateral talks after 10 November.
• A Russian court had sentenced Hubbard in October 2024 to six years and ten months on a mercenary charge that he, his family and US officials reject.
• He was the last American in Russia formally designated by the US State Department as "wrongfully detained", CBS News reported. Several other US citizens remain in Russian custody.
• Trump and Witkoff both said the release was not part of a prisoner swap and that the United States gave nothing in return. Hubbard has left Russia on a flight to the United States.

What happened

Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American held since 2022, on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, during US envoy Steve Witkoff's meeting with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. Trump and Witkoff said the release was not part of a prisoner swap.

During the meeting, Russian state news agencies, citing Putin, reported that Hubbard had been taken to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport. A readout carried by RIA Novosti said Witkoff thanked Putin for the release. In video of the meeting cited by CBS News, Witkoff told Putin: "Because of you, he's going home to his family." He added that "the president sends his thanks."

Reports of the release began appearing in international media at about 09:00–10:00 UTC. NBC News published its first report at 09:25 UTC. CBS News updated its report at 09:58 UTC with Witkoff's confirmation.

The release came a day after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, 20 October, that he had raised Hubbard's case with Putin. ABC News reported that Trump said he had discussed the case "at length" and had "asked him to release him".

Timeline (UTC where available)

What we know

• Hubbard is a retired schoolteacher from Michigan who served in the US Air Force and National Guard, according to CBS News. ABC News reported that he had lived in eastern Ukraine since around 2014 and taught English there.
• Russian prosecutors accused him of fighting for Ukraine as a paid mercenary. Hubbard's family and US officials say the charge is false.
• CBS News reported that Hubbard is in poor health and was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment at a military hospital.
• According to CBS News, up to 10 other Americans, including dual nationals, are reported to remain in Russian custody. ABC News, citing two US officials and another source, reported that the administration had been working on a deal covering several of them.

What we don't know yet

• The legal form of the release, for example a pardon or commutation, has not been disclosed. Trump and Witkoff have said it was not an exchange and that the United States made no concession (updated 22 October).
• Whether the release is linked to Trump's recent decision to waive some sanctions on Russia. CBS News noted that the waiver was announced the previous Friday. Trump defended the waiver on Wednesday, according to ABC News, but no official has publicly tied it to Hubbard's release.
• Hubbard's exact medical condition and when he will arrive in the United States. His sister said he would be flown to San Antonio, Texas, according to ABC News.
• Whether other detained Americans will be released soon, and what else came out of the Witkoff–Putin talks.

Background

Hubbard was living in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. He was detained in April 2022. At his trial in Moscow in October 2024, prosecutors said he had joined a Ukrainian territorial defence unit as a paid fighter. Global News reported at the time that he was said to have pleaded guilty, which his family disputed. The court sentenced him to six years and ten months in a penal colony, counting time already served, and ordered an additional payment to the state.

The State Department later designated him as wrongfully detained. The designation signals that Washington considers the charges unfounded, and it brings a higher level of US government support for securing a person's release. In 2026, several US senators pressed for his return, citing his age and declining health. In August, 16 senators wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to Stars and Stripes. They urged him to prioritise Americans held in Russia, including Hubbard, and to negotiate their release separately from the wider talks on the war in Ukraine.

The case is part of a series of releases negotiated directly between Trump and Putin. CBS News reported that Robert Gilman, a former US Marine, was freed in August 2026 on a humanitarian pardon after Trump appealed to Putin.

Other governments are also pressing for the return of citizens held abroad. El Salvador's president has warned Haitian gangs of a harsher response if four Salvadoran members of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force are not freed alive, as reported in Bukele's warning over the Salvadorans held in Haiti. On the war itself, see our coverage of the dispute over Ukraine's Starlink access and Ukraine's strikes on Yandex data centers.

What it means

For Washington, the release ends the last formal "wrongfully detained" case in Russia, a priority the administration had made public. For Moscow, it offers a goodwill gesture during a sensitive round of diplomacy on Ukraine. According to NBC News, those talks are taking place while the United States presses Kyiv to accept a deal, and Russia is still demanding all of the eastern Donbas region.

Critics in Congress, including some Republicans, have objected to the recent sanctions waiver on Russia, CBS News reported. If any link between that waiver and Hubbard's release emerges, it is likely to sharpen the debate over whether such releases encourage further detentions. According to CBS News and ABC News, both the Gilman and Hubbard releases followed personal appeals from Trump to Putin. CBS News also noted that, unlike Iran and Afghanistan, Russia has not been named a "state sponsor of wrongful detention" by the administration. The main announced outcome of the St. Petersburg talks is Russia's agreement in principle to resume trilateral negotiations after 10 November, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said of a possible leaders' meeting that "no specific proposals or agreements were discussed," Al Jazeera reported. For more on the talks, see our coverage of the Witkoff–Putin talks on a Ukraine peace proposal.

The backlash over Witkoff's "humanitarian" remark shows that the release has not settled concerns in Congress about the administration's approach to Moscow, including among Republicans. Supporters, including Vice President Vance, argue that securing an American's freedom justified the gesture.

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Sources

• CBS News — U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard released by Russia, Witkoff confirms in meeting with Putin (21 Oct 2026)
• NBC News — Russia says it freed American Stephen Hubbard, 74, as Trump envoy meets with Putin (21 Oct 2026)
• ABC News (via ABC11) — Detained American Stephen Hubbard released by Russia as Witkoff meets Putin (21 Oct 2026)
• Stars and Stripes — Senators urge Rubio to prioritize the release of other Americans, including 2 veterans, held in Russian prisons (18 Aug 2026)
• Global News — American man sentenced in Russia as Ukraine mercenary (7 Oct 2024)
• ABC News — Witkoff lauds 'humanitarian' Putin as Russia releases detained American (21 Oct 2026)
• Fox News — Russia releases American Stephen Hubbard after Trump pressed Putin (21 Oct 2026)
• PBS NewsHour / Associated Press — Putin agrees to resume trilateral Russia-Ukraine-U.S. talks next month (21 Oct 2026)
• Al Jazeera — What happened during Witkoff and Kushner's latest meeting with Putin (21 Oct 2026)
• CBS News — Witkoff faces backlash for calling Putin a "humanitarian" (21 Oct 2026)