# Putin frees US teacher held as mercenary in Russia

> Vladimir Putin announces the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American imprisoned since 2022, during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.
- Title: Putin frees US teacher held as mercenary in Russia · Abc
- Summary: Vladimir Putin announces the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American imprisoned since 2022, during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St…
- Keywords: stephen hubbard, vladimir putin, steve witkoff, russia, united states, prisoner release, ukraine conflict, news, politics, Putin, frees, teacher
- Source: Abc — https://abc.net.au/news/2026-10-21/russia-releases-us-citizen-stephen-hubbard-in-custody-since-2022/107294224
- Published: 2026-10-21T10:04:24+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: stephen hubbard, vladimir putin, steve witkoff, russia, united states, prisoner release, ukraine conflict, news, politics
## Putin announces Hubbard's release
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Stephen Hubbard, a seventy four year old US citizen held since two thousand twenty two, has been freed and is at Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg.
## Hubbard's conviction and arrest
Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher from Michigan, was arrested in April two thousand twenty two in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum.
## Hubbard's lawyer disputed charges
Russian prosecutors alleged Hubbard had been manning a Ukrainian military checkpoint. His US based lawyer Martin De Luca told Reuters Hubbard said the charges were false and he was not part of any combat or…
## Russia signals readiness for peace talks
After meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, Russia said it was ready to resume trilateral US Ukraine Russia talks in mid November to discuss building security after the conflict ends.

> Our president informed Steve Witkoff that we are, in principle, ready to resume the mentioned talks
## Key takeaway

Russia released US citizen Stephen Hubbard, imprisoned since 2022 on mercenary charges, as a goodwill gesture during talks between Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff.