Putin announces release of jailed American Stephen Hubbard during talks with U.S. envoy Witkoff

Update (21 Oct 2026): The planned meeting between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin took place in St Petersburg on 21 October 2026. During the talks, Putin announced the release of jailed U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, and Witkoff also said Hubbard had been freed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the release of jailed U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard during talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, according to the BBC, DW and NPR. Putin said Hubbard was at the airport. The BBC and NPR identify it as Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg. The BBC said it was citing Russian state media for Putin's statements on the release. Witkoff said Russia had freed Hubbard, according to DW, AP and Fox News. According to DW, Witkoff said Hubbard was "going home to his family."

According to DW and NPR, the talks concerned U.S. efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The reports do not describe the outcome of those talks on Ukraine. DW reported that it was the ninth meeting between Witkoff and Putin. According to DW, Witkoff told Putin: "We've brought some papers. It's really some ideas, some sort of peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and you'll read that at your leisure." DW also reported that Putin proposed that Witkoff discuss restoring bilateral ties between Washington and Moscow, as well as a possible meeting with Trump in Beijing.

Hubbard is a U.S. citizen from Michigan, according to the BBC, NPR and Fox News. Those outlets report that Russian forces captured or detained him in 2022. He was convicted on charges related to fighting for Ukraine. Most reports describe the charges as being a mercenary. DW and NPR report that his trial was closed. He was sentenced in 2024. According to the BBC and NPR, the United States had designated him as wrongfully detained. NPR reports that the designation was made under the Biden administration. Fox News and AP describe Hubbard as a retired teacher. NPR reports that he is 74. The BBC and Fox News report that he was 72 when he was sentenced. According to DW, Hubbard denies the mercenary charges.

On Tuesday, before the talks, President Donald Trump said he had raised Hubbard's case with Putin, according to the BBC, NPR and Fox News. According to NPR, Putin said Hubbard was freed following a request from Trump. DW wrote that the release "was seen as" a goodwill gesture to the Trump administration. DW did not say by whom.

Beyond the remarks by Putin and Witkoff quoted by the outlets, the reports do not include a formal Kremlin or U.S. government statement or document on the release. The BBC said it had contacted the White House for comment. Apart from Witkoff's remark, reported by DW, that Hubbard was "going home to his family," the reports do not say whether Hubbard has left Russia, when or how he will travel, or what condition his health is in. They do not say whether the release involved any exchange, conditions or reciprocal steps. They do not include any statement from Hubbard or his family.

Talks in Norway

Before the St Petersburg meeting, Witkoff held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway, according to Daily Sabah and The Japan Times. Daily Sabah reported that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hoped a meeting in Russia between the envoys and Putin could be organized soon. According to DW, Witkoff met Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Oslo the day before the St Petersburg talks.

According to The Japan Times, a U.S. official described the talks in Norway as "constructive". The reports do not name the official. According to DW, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the meeting with Zelenskyy was positive. "He will now, armed with those ideas, be able to go to St. Petersburg and share them with the Russian side, and let's see if we can make some progress," Rubio said, according to DW.

According to Daily Sabah, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also met Zelenskyy in Oslo. Jared Kushner, a U.S. envoy and Trump's son-in-law, was due to join a meeting with Zelenskyy by videoconference. Zelenskyy said officials would discuss Ukraine's air defenses and joint weapons production. According to DW, Støre said Witkoff planned to return to Oslo for further consultations after St Petersburg.

Daily Sabah also mentioned reports of a possible meeting of Trump, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It did not say where those reports came from. Daily Sabah quoted Zelenskyy as saying: "if there are issues about Ukraine, our future, it can be acceptable only when we are at the table of negotiations."

Officials cited by Daily Sabah said Russian missile and drone attacks on civilian areas killed at least nine people. Regional police said four people were killed and 27 wounded in the Kyiv region over the past day. The wounded included children. The reports do not include independent verification or a Russian account of the strikes.

What is disputed

The reports differ on the length of Hubbard's sentence. The BBC, NPR and Fox News describe it as almost or nearly seven years. DW describes it as seven years.

The reports also give different wording for Trump's Tuesday remarks on Hubbard. These may be different remarks rather than a contradiction. According to the BBC, Trump told reporters "Watch what happens" and "we have been focused on Hubbard." According to Fox News, Trump said: "I've been talking to President Putin about Mr. Hubbard. I've been talking to him at length. I've asked him to release him," and "Let's see what happens." The reports do not reconcile the two versions.

According to Daily Sabah, Zelenskyy told a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Monday that "some political decision has been made to slow down... support for us." He also said the Pentagon is delaying missiles that other countries bought for Ukraine. He added that Kyiv had received late warnings of Russian missile attacks, or none at all. Rubio denied that the U.S. is withholding assistance. He told reporters: "Nothing has changed." He said Patriot ammunition is in short supply and needed elsewhere. The reports do not include a Pentagon response.

What each side says

• Vladimir Putin said Hubbard was freed following a request from Trump, according to NPR.
• Donald Trump said he had asked Putin to release Hubbard, according to NPR and Fox News. According to DW, he reiterated on Tuesday that he wants Zelenskyy "to make a deal".
• Steve Witkoff said Hubbard is going home to his family, according to DW.
• Russian prosecutors said Hubbard served in a defence unit in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum when he was captured, according to the BBC. According to Fox News, prosecutors said he signed a contract with the Ukrainian military after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and fought alongside them until he was captured two months later.
• Stephen Hubbard denies the mercenary charges, according to DW.
• Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said Moscow was willing to listen but he did not expect any "miracle", according to DW.
• Jonas Gahr Støre, the Norwegian prime minister, told NRK: "I think we may have entered a phase now where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy," according to DW.
• Zelenskyy said early warnings resumed after he spoke with Rubio by phone on Tuesday. He said Ukraine has nearly run out of Patriot interceptors and that speed limits on SpaceX's Starshield service are hampering operations. According to Daily Sabah, Trump has waived sanctions on Russia. NPR reports that Trump has lifted some sanctions on Moscow amid U.S. efforts to negotiate an end to the war. Zelenskyy said the waiver helps Putin continue the invasion.
• Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said before the meeting that Moscow hoped it could happen soon. "We highly appreciate the mediation efforts of the American negotiators," he said, according to Daily Sabah.
• Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, said U.S. negotiators "have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for ... one and a half years now."
• Unnamed Ukrainian officials said the Trump administration has encouraged Kyiv to give up land in return for peace.

Germany's Kiel Institute says European countries and EU institutions have allocated 237 billion euros to Ukraine. It says the United States has allocated 115 billion euros.

Analysis

The meeting that was being planned has now taken place. Hubbard's release came during talks that DW and NPR say concerned U.S. efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Putin, according to NPR, linked the release to a request from Trump. DW reported that the release was seen as a goodwill gesture to the Trump administration, but did not say by whom. The reports do not say whether it involved any exchange or conditions. Washington is now in contact with both Kyiv and Moscow, and Witkoff, according to Norway's prime minister, planned to return to Oslo. Støre suggested Russia may be looking for opportunities for diplomacy. Lavrov said he did not expect any "miracle", and the reports do not describe the outcome of the talks on Ukraine. DW reports that Putin raised restoring bilateral ties and a possible meeting with Trump in Beijing. That suggests Moscow may be seeking to broaden the agenda beyond Ukraine. Zelenskyy has insisted that Ukraine be at the table in any talks about its future, and Kallas has questioned whether U.S. negotiators have been honest brokers. How far the U.S. and Russian positions take Kyiv's demand into account remains unclear. The public disagreement between Zelenskyy and Rubio over U.S. support could still affect trust in the process. The release itself is reported by the BBC, DW, NPR, Fox News and AP, but these accounts are not fully independent: Fox News credits an AP contribution, the BBC cites Russian state media, and all rest on statements by Putin and Witkoff. Several earlier details, including the Zelenskyy-Rubio dispute and the casualty figures, rest on a single outlet. They should be treated with caution until more reporting is available.

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