Free at the Witkoff-Putin Meeting

Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, was released from a Russian prison on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, after being detained for more than four years. His release took place on the sidelines of a meeting between US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.

The Kremlin called Hubbard's release a "humanitarian gesture." President Donald Trump said he had asked Putin to free Hubbard in an early October phone call. Hubbard was flown to San Antonio for a medical examination after his release.

Mercenary Charges and a Nearly 7-Year Sentence

Hubbard was captured by Russian forces in 2022 from his home in Izyum, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, and in October 2024 was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison — precisely six years and 10 months — in a closed-door trial on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

The US government under the Biden administration designated Hubbard as "wrongfully detained," and the family denies the allegations — they say Hubbard had no military or political ties during his stay in Ukraine since 2014.

Testimony of Torture from a Former Ukrainian Prisoner

The heaviest allegations come from Ihor Shishko, a former Ukrainian prisoner of war who was held alongside Hubbard from September 2022 to May 2024 in two Russian prisons: Novozybkov in the Bryansk region and the Pakino No. 7 prison colony in the Vladimir region.

In a letter to The Times, Shishko alleged that Hubbard — the only US citizen detained — was targeted because of his nationality. He accused authorities of beating Hubbard daily, subjecting him to electric shocks, forcing him to crawl like a dog, and sexually abusing him. Shishko said he bandaged Hubbard's knees, whose skin had been scraped raw from being forced to crawl on the prison floor.

Criticism Over Witkoff's Praise and the Fate of Other Prisoners

Shishko sharply condemned Witkoff's remark to Putin — "You are a humanitarian also, sir" — as "shameful and disgusting," and demanded an apology for his ignorance.

The testimony aligns with statements made by Hubbard's sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, to AP: her brother was starved and beaten so severely that fellow prisoners had to carry him, and the guards knew only three words of English: "Die, American. Die." According to his sister, Hubbard did not even realize he had been freed until he saw the US flag inside the aircraft.

Hubbard is the second US citizen freed by Russia in about two months, after Marine veteran Robert Gilman in August. According to the advocacy group Global Reach, five other US citizens remain detained in Russia.