Putin says Russia has freed US citizen Stephen Hubbard

Russian President Vladimir Putin ​said on Wednesday ​that Stephen Hubbard, ‌a 74-year-old ​US citizen held in Russian custody since 2022, had been freed and was ‌at St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport. Putin did not give further details in comments published by Russian state media. The Kremlin chief ‌made the announcement at a meeting with US envoy ‌Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.

Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher from Michigan, had been serving a nearly seven-year prison sentence in Russia following a ⁠conviction for ​mercenary activity ⁠at a closed-door trial. He was arrested in April 2022 in ⁠the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, where Russian prosecutors alleged he ​had been manning a Ukrainian military checkpoint.

Russian state media ⁠reported he pleaded guilty to the charges. But his US-based lawyer, Martin ⁠De ​Luca, previously told Reuters Hubbard had told him the charges against him were false and that he was ⁠not in any combat or military unit. At the time ⁠of his ⁠release, Hubbard was the only US prisoner held by Russia who was designated by Washington ‌as "wrongfully detained".