Putin frees American Stephen Hubbard as Witkoff brings US peace proposals to St Petersburg

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday, carrying documents that set out Washington’s approach to ending the war in Ukraine. Within hours the Russian leader handed him a gesture: the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American held in Russia for more than four years.

Putin announced at the meeting that Hubbard had been freed and was already at the city’s Pulkovo Airport. Witkoff confirmed the release and thanked the Russian president for it.

The talks at the Konstantinovsky Palace were Witkoff’s first visit to Russia since 5 September, when he and Jared Kushner spent three hours with Putin in Moscow. Kushner did not travel this time and was expected to join remotely. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation, met Witkoff at the airport and sat in on the talks.

From Oslo to St Petersburg

Witkoff came straight from Oslo, where on Tuesday he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Zelenskyy said Kyiv and Washington had agreed on a series of proposals to end the war, including security guarantees for Ukraine. Støre said Witkoff would discuss with Putin “proposals that have been worked on by European and American colleagues”. Stubb called it “a good day for peace”.

At the start of Wednesday’s meeting Witkoff described the Oslo talks as “promising” and said: “There has been progress.” He said a ceasefire was possible, thanked Putin for what he called the “diesel deal” and spoke of prospects for economic ties between the two countries once the war ends. Putin, for his part, asked about the Norway talks, said Russia wanted to restore economic cooperation with the United States and offered to help settle the conflict with Iran.

The Kremlin played down hopes of a breakthrough. “I don’t know whether any agreement will be reached today,” said Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow will listen to new US proposals but does not expect a “miracle”, and has ruled out political concessions.

Who is Stephen Hubbard

Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher from Michigan who served in the US Air Force and National Guard, had lived in Ukraine since 2014. He was captured in Izium in the Kharkiv region soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. A Moscow court in 2024 sentenced him to almost seven years in a penal colony on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. His family disputed the charge, saying he was unlikely to have fought at his age, and the State Department had designated him wrongfully detained.

Trump had pressed for his freedom in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “I’ve asked him to release him,” he said. “It’s time to have Mr. Hubbard back.” Hubbard, said to be in poor health, was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment at a military hospital.

What comes next

Rubio, speaking in Mumbai, said Witkoff would pass on the results of the Oslo meeting to Moscow. “Let’s see if we can make some progress,” he said. The war has not paused on the ground: at least nine people were killed in Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine reported on Tuesday, and Ukrenergo reported power cuts in 12 regions.