US special envoy to discuss release of American prisoner Stephen Hubbard with Putin

US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week to discuss the release of 74-year-old American citizen Stephen Hubbard. Hubbard, a former English teacher originally from Michigan who served in the US Air Force, was sentenced by a Moscow court in October 2024 to six years and ten months in prison for serving as a mercenary in Ukraine.

Hubbard spent decades teaching English abroad, including time in Japan and Cyprus, before moving to Izyum, Ukraine, in 2014. Following the Russian invasion, authorities alleged that Hubbard signed a contract with a territorial defense battalion in 2022. While his sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, maintained that he lived alone on a small pension after splitting from his partner, the Russian court found him guilty of participating in military operations. A request for his release was previously rejected by a court in Mordovia in 2025.

US officials have contested the legitimacy of his detention. Reports indicate that US President Donald Trump has personally intervened, appealing directly to Putin to facilitate Hubbard's release. The outcome of the upcoming discussions between Witkoff and Putin remains pending as diplomatic efforts continue.