Detained American Stephen Hubbard released by Russia as Witkoff meets Putin
The 74-year-old was arrested by Russian forces in Ukraine in April 2022.
LONDON -- President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Russia on Wednesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and oversee the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan who had been in Russian detention since 2022, according to reports in Russian state-run media.
Witkoff landed in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning, a Kremlin aide confirmed, ahead of the planned meeting with Putin.
Trump's envoy thanked Putin for freeing Hubbard, according to a readout of the meeting published by Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency. Putin said that Hubbard -- who was detained in eastern Ukraine in April 2022 -- was taken to St. Peterburg's Pulkovo Airport, the readout said.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday that Witkoff was set to meet with Putin at St. Petersburg's Constantine Palace "in the first half of the day," as quoted by Russian state media.
Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg as the Trump administration was closing in on a deal that would see multiple Americans released from detention in Russia, two U.S. officials and another source familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The talks were centered on Hubbard and several other U.S. citizens held by Moscow on what the administration believes are dubious charges, the source said.
Hubbard had been living in eastern Ukraine as a civilian since around 2014, where he taught English and had a relationship with a Ukrainian woman, according to his family.
After he was detained, Russian authorities charged Hubbard with acting as a mercenary and fighting for Ukraine, sentencing him to nearly seven years in prison. Hubbard's family and U.S. officials said the charges were false and the State Department designated him as wrongfully detained.
Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on Tuesday. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also attended the talks, which focused on ceasefire proposals to halt Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Witkoff's latest round of shuttle diplomacy comes amid intensifying White House pressure on Zelenskyy to make concessions to secure a peace deal with Moscow.
In recent weeks, Trump waived a raft of sanctions on Moscow and again blamed Kyiv for the lack of progress in U.S.-sponsored peace talks, even suggesting that Zelenskyy should be replaced as Ukrainian president.
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S. had received "nothing" for its support of Ukraine.
"Look, we have given tremendous amounts to Ukraine. We've got nothing back other than high diesel," Trump said. "We have given, probably, possibly, more money to Ukraine than almost anybody over the years, hundreds of billions of dollars. We've got nothing back, and the American taxpayers are tired of it. We want Zelenskyy to make a deal."
Trump was asked on Tuesday to confirm if the U.S. is on the verge of a deal to free Hubbard, though he did not provide an update. However, Trump said he had spoken with Putin about Hubbard "at length" and "asked him to release him."
"Let's see what happens," Trump added. "I'd love to get him back."
ABC News' Joe Simonetti, Shannon K. Kingston, Fritz Farrow, Nicholas Kerr, Emily Chang and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
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