US citizen Stephen Hubbard freed by Russia and 'on his way home', Trump says

Russia has agreed to release a 74-year-old American citizen who was jailed for allegedly fighting on behalf of Ukraine.

Stephen Hubbard has been taken to Pulkovo Airport, Putin said during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, according to state media.

President Trump said Hubbard was "on his way back home" and "there was no 'swap' necessary for this release".

Hubbard, a former teacher originally from Michigan, was sentenced to almost seven years in a penal colony in 2024.

Prosecutors had accused him of serving in a defence unit in the eastern city of Izyum when he was captured by Russian forces, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years earlier.

Writing on social media after Russian state media reported the release, Trump said it had followed a request he "made directly" to Putin last week.

"There was no "swap" necessary for this release," Trump said.

The US State Department had previously classified Hubbard as "wrongfully detained" and Trump had suggested on Tuesday that his release may be imminent.

"Watch what happens," Trump told reporters, "we have been focused ⁠on ​Hubbard".