US envoy to discuss release of 74-year-old American detained in Russia

US special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet President Vladimir Putin this week to negotiate the possible release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American citizen held by Russian authorities. Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher and former Air Force serviceman, spent decades abroad before moving to Izyum in eastern Ukraine with a Ukrainian partner in 2014. Russian state media say he was detained in April 2022 and later tried in a closed Moscow court, which convicted him in October 2024 of serving as a mercenary and sentenced him to six years and ten months.

His sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, and his US-based lawyer, Martin De Luca, dispute the prosecution’s narrative, asserting he was not involved in combat and was simply seized from his home. Washington labeled Hubbard as wrongfully detained in January 2025, yet Russia has refused consular access, and he has been moved among several detention facilities, most recently a prison in the Mordovia region. The upcoming talks could determine whether he gains freedom.