Russia has released retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard, 74, the latest sign of warmer ties between the two countries as Washington pressures Kyiv to agree to a deal to end Moscow’s war.
\n\nThe news of Hubbard’s release came as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with President Vladimir Putin early Wednesday in St. Petersburg. In remarks aired on Russian state news agencies, Putin said that Hubbard was at the airport and Witkoff lauded the Russian leader for his release. “You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir,” Witkoff said.
\n\nThe U.S. has courted the Kremlin for weeks, and the release of Hubbard — a retired Michigan schoolteacher detained in Ukraine in 2022 — will give President Donald Trump a victory to tout after backlash at home and abroad for his tilt away from Kyiv in the conflict.
\n\nTrump said Tuesday that he had appealed to Putin to release Hubbard, who was being held on charges he denies of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. He was the last American designated as “wrongfully detained” in Russia by the State Department.
\n\nThe meeting between Putin and Witkoff, which Jared Kushner was expected…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/