Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago2 min read
Russia Releases 74-Year-Old American Stephen Hubbard After Talks With Steve Witkoff
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Stephen Hubbard, 74, released from Russian prison during Witkoff-Putin talks. Detained since 2022 on mercenary charges related to Ukraine.
Hubbard freed in St. Petersburg
Russia released 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard during talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, with Putin saying Hubbard was taken to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport.
Witkoff thanked Putin for freeing Hubbard, saying, "I want to thank you very much. The president sends his thanks," and Witkoff added, "Because of you, he's going home to his family."
Trump posted that he asked Putin to release Hubbard in a phone call last week, writing, "Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family," and Trump said, "There was no 'swap' necessary for this release."
Putin said Hubbard was detained in eastern Ukraine in April 2022, and the accounts tied the release to ongoing U.S.-led efforts to end Moscow's invasion that the Kremlin launched in February 2022.
Peace talks and proposals
Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo, and Witkoff told Putin, "One thing that I hope to accomplish today is to have some good conversation between us about resumption potentially of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States."
Witkoff presented Putin with an updated proposal to end the war in Ukraine, and Witkoff said he would ask Putin to "consider resuming trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the United States" to discuss next steps toward a settlement.
Putin told Witkoff he wanted to discuss possible Russian mediation between the U.S. and Iran, saying, "if there's anything we can do to resolve this crisis, we'll be happy to do so."
Zelenskyy said he was waiting to see whether the American side could hear something new from Russia about peace, writing, "A lot depends on whether the American side manages to hear something new from Russia today -- about peace, not about continuing the war," and Zelenskyy also said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about "sensitive issues such as Starlink, ballistic missile interceptors and intelligence."
Sanctions, intelligence, and stakes
Trump defended his decision to waive numerous sanctions on Russia by arguing, "If sanctions would have been placed, certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt," while other reporting tied the release to U.S. pressure on Zelenskyy to make concessions to secure a peace deal.
The BBC said the U.S. State Department had classified Hubbard as "wrongfully detained," and it also reported that the first shipment under a diesel agreement would leave Russia "in two to three days," as Putin said during the meeting.
Kyiv accused Washington of halting intelligence sharing on deadly Russian strikes, and the BBC reported that Washington rejected the allegation as "scandalous" while Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that such information sharing had resumed.
The BBC also said Witkoff filmed in St. Petersburg described the diesel deal as an example of what could be achieved by working together, and Witkoff told Putin, "Your decision to remove export controls on diesel oil from Russia" was "really important that that happened."