World·Russia-Ukraine
Russia frees retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard as Trump envoy Witkoff meets Putin
Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired Michigan teacher held since April 2022 on mercenary charges he denies, as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Reuters and NBC News reported. Trump said on Truth Social that he asked Putin directly for the release in a phone call last week and that the United States 'was not required to give anything in return'; NBC said Hubbard was the last American the State Department designated as wrongfully detained in Russia. Witkoff, in his ninth in-person meeting with Putin, brought documents outlining approaches to a possible peace deal a day after talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that a U.S. official called 'constructive,' Reuters reported.
- Fox NewsRussia releases American teacher imprisoned on Ukraine mercenary charges after Trump pressed Putin
- Reuters (via Investing.com)Putin hosts Trump envoy for new Ukraine peace talks, frees US citizen held in Russia
- NBC NewsRussia frees retired American teacher as Trump envoy meets with Putin