SAN ANTONIO – An American man who spent more than four years in a Russian prison is back on U.S. soil after arriving overnight at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, returned to the United States after Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release him following a personal request from President Donald Trump.
Video captured Hubbard’s plane arriving at Lackland overnight, marking the end of an ordeal that began in 2022 when Russian authorities arrested him on accusations of fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.
Hubbard’s attorneys and family have denied those allegations, maintaining that he was never involved in military activity.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that he personally asked Putin to release Hubbard during a recent phone call. He said the United States did not have to release any prisoners in exchange.
“He is the happiest man around,” Trump said, describing Hubbard as a “very high-quality, innocent man.”
The president also said Hubbard is expected to visit the White House in the coming days.
Four years in Russian custody
Hubbard had been living in Ukraine for years before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russian authorities arrested him that April, claiming he had signed a contract with the Ukrainian military and fought alongside Ukrainian troops.
He was sentenced in 2024 to nearly seven years in prison following closed court proceedings.
The U.S. government designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
His sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, has maintained that her brother was an innocent American caught up in Russia’s war.
“He was just for bait. It was all about bait. And that’s why they kidnap Americans,” she told The Associated Press.
“Steven James Hubbard is the face of America,” she said. “They could do that to anybody. They just happened to see him. ‘Oh, that’s an American, let’s go get him.’”
Hubbard, a U.S. Air Force veteran, previously taught English overseas and retired to Cyprus by 2012. He later moved to Ukraine to be with a woman he had met and remained there after their relationship ended.
He was detained after Russian forces took control of the area where he was living.
A personal request to Putin
Hubbard’s release came Wednesday during a visit to St. Petersburg by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who met face-to-face with Putin as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts surrounding the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff thanked the Russian president for agreeing to free Hubbard.
“Because of you, he’s going home to his family,” Witkoff told Putin.
“You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir,” he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said American officials had been seeking Hubbard’s release for some time and that Putin ultimately agreed to free him for humanitarian reasons.
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed that the Russian president had pardoned Hubbard.
Following his release, Hubbard was taken to St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, where Witkoff arranged to bring him back to the United States.
Video showed Hubbard shaking hands with Witkoff and thanking him. The envoy also introduced Hubbard to Russian official Kirill Dmitriev, crediting him with helping secure the release.
“We just met President Putin, he sends you blessings and wishes you good things,” Witkoff told Hubbard.
Family celebrates his return
For Hubbard’s family, his arrival in San Antonio represents a homecoming they once feared would never happen.
Martin De Luca, one of Hubbard’s attorneys at Boies Schiller Flexner, said the family had grown increasingly concerned about his chances of surviving Russian imprisonment.
“They thought they weren’t going to see him again alive, and Stephen didn’t think he was going to come out of there alive,” De Luca told The Associated Press.
“Obviously, they’re overjoyed, but they feel very much like it’s a miracle.”
Hubbard’s sister said she spoke with her brother shortly after his release and could hear the excitement in his voice.
“That was awesome. He was just laughing. He said, ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’” Hubbard Fox said.
She expects her brother to stay with her in Colorado.
Other Americans remain imprisoned in Russia
Hubbard’s return comes amid shifting relations between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv as the Trump administration continues efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
His release also follows several recent U.S. policy decisions favorable to Moscow, including Trump’s move to waive certain sanctions on Russia and an announcement involving imports of Russian diesel fuel.
Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway on Tuesday before traveling to Russia for talks with Putin.
Hubbard is the second American freed from Russian custody in roughly two months.
In August, Russia released Marine veteran Robert Gilman, who had been seriously ill while imprisoned on disputed charges of assaulting a police officer.
Other Americans remain behind bars in Russia, including prisoners with serious medical conditions. Hubbard was the last remaining American officially designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained, although advocates argue that others should receive the same designation.
Asked Wednesday night whether additional Americans could be released, Trump expressed optimism.
“Yeah, I think so. That’ll come,” the president said.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities have announced additional arrests of foreign nationals in recent days, including a German citizen suspected of mercenary activity, a Swedish citizen accused of sabotage and a Japanese journalist accused of espionage.
For Hubbard, however, more than four years of imprisonment have finally come to an end, with his return to American soil beginning overnight in San Antonio.