Khrushchev's great-granddaughter on Steve Hubbard's release, Witkoff calling Putin a humanitarian

On October 21, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American citizen who had been imprisoned since April 2022 on charges of being a mercenary in Ukraine. Hubbard was freed during talks between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin in St. Petersburg. Trump claimed to have directly requested Hubbard's release from Putin, adding that no concessions were made by the US in return.

Hubbard had been serving nearly seven years in prison after a closed trial where he faced charges of joining a Ukrainian military unit upon Russia's invasion in February 2022 and fighting until his capture two months later. The U.S. government under the Biden administration had designated him as wrongfully detained, making him the last American prisoner held by Russia in this status.

Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on October 20 to discuss peace efforts and then traveled to St. Petersburg for talks with Putin. Following Hubbard's release, Witkoff thanked Putin for his humanitarian action during their meeting. The envoy later met with Hubbard at an undisclosed location before returning to Oslo for further consultations.

Hubbard was originally from Michigan and had been living in Izyum, eastern Ukraine, since 2014. He is the second American detainee released by Russia in less than three months as tensions between Washington and Moscow appear to be easing slightly amid ongoing efforts to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine's five-year conflict.