Russia frees American Stephen Hubbard after four years as US envoy Witkoff meets Putin
Photo: The New York TimesRussia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, on Wednesday after more than four years in custody, as US envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. Putin said Hubbard was at Pulkovo airport. A closed trial in 2024 sentenced him to nearly seven years for fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine; prosecutors said he signed with Ukraine's military and fought until captured two months after Russia's February 2022 invasion. The US had deemed him wrongfully detained. President Trump said Hubbard landed in the US Wednesday night and would visit the White House within a day or so. Trump said Putin agreed at his request, with no swap, but that waiving new sanctions on Russia also played a role.
Left-leaning CBS centers Hubbard's son, Fr. Joseph Coleman, and Trump's sanctions remark, while the New York Times stresses the State Department's view that the charges were fabricated. Alternative source AP and the right-leaning New York Post note Trump's actions benefiting Moscow; Newsmax and the Post lead with Putin, Witkoff and Trump's earlier plea.
How the sides differ Left sources highlight Hubbard's son and the fabricated-charges view; alternative and right sources stress Putin, Witkoff and Trump's plea, with AP and the Post noting Trump's pro-Moscow actions.
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- The New York TimesWho Is Stephen James Hubbard, the American Released From Russian Jail?
CBS leads with an interview with Hubbard's son, Fr. Joseph Coleman, and Trump's comments on the sanctions waiver. The New York Times profiles Hubbard and cites the State Department's description of the charges as fabricated.
AP reports the release as completed during Witkoff's visit and places it amid a series of Trump actions meant to benefit Moscow.
Newsmax leads with Putin's announcement that Hubbard was freed at Pulkovo airport. The New York Post emphasizes Witkoff, Trump's earlier plea to Putin, the trial details and the Biden-era wrongful-detention designation.