--- title: "Russia frees American teacher Stephen Hubbard in St. Petersburg as Trump says no swap was needed" url: https://badiyaa.com/stephen-hubbard-released-russia-americans-detained/ published: 2026-10-22T11:54:03+01:00 modified: 2026-10-22T10:04:13+01:00 section: World publisher: Badiyaa --- # Russia frees American teacher Stephen Hubbard in St. Petersburg as Trump says no swap was needed Convicted in 2024 of acting as a mercenary, Hubbard was pardoned by Putin and handed to US envoy Steve Witkoff at Pulkovo Airport on October 21. Stephen Hubbard, a retired American English teacher held by Russia since April 2022, was pardoned by Vladimir Putin and handed to US envoy Steve Witkoff at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport on Wednesday, October 21, the Kremlin said. From his detention in occupied eastern Ukraine to his release is a span of about four and a half years. The Kremlin said Putin granted the pardon because President Donald Trump and members of his administration had repeatedly sought Hubbard’s return “on humanitarian grounds.” Trump said he made the request to Putin directly in a phone call the week before, and that the United States “was not required to give anything in return.” In a Truth Social post he added: “There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release.” Witkoff said the release “was not part of an exchange.” Trump also linked the result to his decision, five days earlier, to waive sanctions on Russia just before they took effect. Speaking about critics who wanted those sanctions imposed, he told reporters at the White House: “If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back.” ## Who Hubbard is and what Russia accused him of Hubbard grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan, served in the US Air Force and the National Guard, and worked for about 25 years in Japan before settling in Izium, eastern Ukraine, with a Ukrainian partner. Russian forces occupied the city in April 2022 and detained him that month. His case became public only when a closed trial opened at Moscow City Court. On October 7, 2024, the court convicted him under Article 359 of the Russian criminal code, which covers fighting as a mercenary. The term: six years and 10 months, to be served in a penal colony. Russian authorities accused him of manning a checkpoint. His family has always maintained his innocence. After the verdict he was moved between several facilities, including in the Mordovia region, and in January 2025 the United States designated him as wrongfully detained. His age is less settled than this week’s coverage suggests. Most accounts gave it as 74. Witkoff, speaking to Putin, called him “a 75-year-old man.” The birth date in his public reference entry, December 17, 1952, would make him 73 until this December. Badiyaa could not confirm which figure is correct. ## What his family said Hubbard’s son, Joseph Coleman, an Orthodox priest, thanked both Trump and Putin. “We have been gravely concerned for his safety and health since his 2022 detention,” he said in a statement. Witkoff told Putin he had met the son only days earlier. Hubbard’s sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, thanked Trump “for being the hand of God and bringing Stephen Hubbard home,” and said she had heard the news from the media before hearing from officials. Hubbard, described as being in poor health, was expected to be flown to a military hospital in Texas; his sister named San Antonio. Witkoff’s praise of Putin as “a humanitarian” for the release drew criticism from senators in both parties, while Vice President JD Vance said the focus should be on an American coming home. The same visit produced Russia’s offer to restart three-way talks with the US and Ukraine, a separate track. ## The Americans still held in Russia Of the Americans held in Russia, Hubbard was the only remaining one with a formal State Department designation as wrongfully detained. That does not mean no Americans remain: as many as 10 others, including dual nationals, are still in Russian custody. One is Aleksandr Antonov, arrested in 2025 and sentenced to six years, whose family says he was targeted for being a US citizen and has pressed the State Department to prioritize his case. A public reference list of Americans held in Russia names others still in detention, among them: - David Barnes, detained in January 2022 and sentenced to 21 years in a labor camp over child-abuse accusations that Texas law enforcement found unfounded; - Gordon Black, a US soldier arrested in May 2024 and sentenced to four years; - Michael Travis Leake, a former paratrooper arrested in June 2023 and given 13 years on drug-trafficking charges; - Yuri Malev, a dual citizen given three and a half years over social media posts critical of the invasion of Ukraine; - Robert Woodland, arrested in January 2024 on drug charges. Recent releases have taken different routes. Marc Fogel came home in February 2025; Robert Gilman received a humanitarian pardon in August 2026 after a direct appeal from Trump; and Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan were freed in a multi-country prisoner exchange on August 1, 2024. Two US officials said this week that the administration was close to a deal covering several more Americans held by Moscow. For now, the State Department keeps Russia at Level 4, “Do Not Travel,” its highest advisory, citing the risk of wrongful detention. ## Further reading - [Badiyaa: Putin tells Witkoff Russia is ready to resume three-way Ukraine talks around November 10](https://badiyaa.com/putin-witkoff-st-petersburg-trilateral-talks-november/) - [Wikipedia: Stephen Hubbard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hubbard) - [Wikipedia: List of Americans wrongfully imprisoned or detained abroad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Americans_wrongfully_imprisoned_or_detained_abroad) *Image: Andrey Korchagin, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons* *This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. [How we work](https://badiyaa.com/editorial-policy/).*