Trump announces Russia freed US teacher Stephen Hubbard after direct request to Putin
Briefing by News4U · First published
Russia released 74-year-old Stephen Hubbard, the first American convicted of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. Trump said the release followed his phone call with Putin last week.
The Guardian reports that Russia released retired Michigan schoolteacher Stephen Hubbard, 74, who was arrested in 2022 when Russian forces briefly occupied Izyum, Ukraine, where he lived with his Ukrainian wife. A Russian court sentenced him to nearly seven years in prison in 2024 after convicting him of fighting as a mercenary, a charge he has always denied. [1]
Trump posted on Truth Social that the release resulted from a direct request he made to Putin in a telephone call last week, adding that the United States was not required to give anything in return and that the Biden administration had failed to secure Hubbard’s freedom. [1]
Sources
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The Guardian · · Full text