Kremlin says Russia did not free US citizen Stephen Hubbard in exchange for a Russian war blogger

The Kremlin ​denied on Friday that ​Russia had released ‌American national ​Stephen Hubbard from prison in exchange for the recent release of ‌a Russian war blogger detained in Montenegro. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Hubbard, a 74-year-old US ‌citizen held in Russian custody since 2022, had been ‌freed in what the Kremlin called a humanitarian goodwill gesture.

US President Donald Trump said he had asked Putin to ⁠free Hubbard ​and that ⁠Russia had not asked for anything or anyone in return ⁠for letting the retired US school teacher return home. But ​some of Trump's domestic opponents have suggested that Hubbard ⁠may have been freed in connection with the case ⁠of Mikhail ​Zvinchuk, a high-profile Russian war blogger who was briefly detained in Montenegro earlier this month ⁠before being let go.

Asked to comment on that allegation, Kremlin ⁠spokesman Dmitry ⁠Peskov told reporters it was false. "That's not right," said Peskov.