Trump, Putin negotiate release of US Air Force veteran from Russian prison

Stephen Hubbard, a retired U.S. teacher and Air Force veteran, was released from Russian custody on Wednesday after spending over four years in prison.

Hubbard was serving a roughly seven-year sentence after being accused by Russia in 2022 of working with Ukraine as a mercenary. American President Donald Trump announced his release from prison on social media, saying it was out of respect for the president and nothing was asked of the U.S. in return.

“This release was not part of an exchange — and we extend our thanks to President Putin for releasing him on President Trump’s request,” Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on social media after he retrieved Hubbard in St. Petersburg.

Hubbard, 74, was an active-duty airman beginning in March 1974, an Air Force spokesperson told Military Times. He was an Airman 1st Class as an apprentice administration specialist, with his last duty station at Mather Air Force Base, California. He separated from the service in March 1978.

Mather closed as a military base in 1993 and is now operational as the Sacramento Mather Airport.

After active duty, Hubbard served in the Air National Guard, but due to the age of the records, information regarding his role as a guardsman in the force’s system is sparse, the spokesperson said.

The National Guard did not return a request for comment.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, middle, and Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, left, attend a meeting with Stephen Hubbard, right, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Oct. 21, 2026. (Video screenshot/Reuters)

Although Trump said “no swap” was necessary for Hubbard’s release, he told reporters outside the White House and in a subsequent social media post that if he placed sanctions on Russia, Hubbard’s release would not have occurred.

He said that people who “don’t know how life works” questioned his decision to waive sanctions on Russia during the negotiations to release Hubbard.

“If I would’ve done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back,” he told reporters.

“If you would’ve put those sanctions on, or whatever you want to call them, you could forget about him, you’d never see him again,” he continued. “He’d be back in jail for 25 years.”

Hubbard’s release comes less than a week after Trump prevented new sanctions on Russia, which were intended to target the country’s largest buyers of oil and gas, drawing criticism from members of Congress who support the legislation and Ukraine.

Alongside Hubbard, the administration has negotiated the release of other Americans from Russian custody since returning to office last year, including Robert Gilman, Ksenia Karelina and Marc Fogel, Witkoff said.

Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.

美国退休教师兼空军老兵斯蒂芬·哈伯德在被俄罗斯监禁四年多后，于周三获释。

哈伯德因2022年被俄罗斯指控为乌克兰从事雇佣兵活动而被判处约七年监禁。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在社交媒体上宣布哈伯德获释，称这是出于对总统的尊重，乌克兰方面没有要求美国做出任何回报。

“此次释放并非交换条件的一部分——我们感谢普京总统应特朗普总统的要求释放了他，”特使史蒂夫·威特科夫在圣彼得堡接回哈伯德后在社交媒体上表示。

据《军事时报》报道，空军发言人透露，现年74岁的哈伯德于1974年3月开始服役，是一名现役空军士兵。他是一名一级空军士兵，担任行政助理，最后服役地点是加利福尼亚州马瑟空军基地。他于1978年3月退役。

马瑟基地于 1993 年关闭，现已作为萨克拉门托马瑟机场投入运营。

发言人表示，哈伯德退役后曾在空军国民警卫队服役，但由于记录年代久远，有关他在该部队系统中担任国民警卫队成员的信息很少。

国民警卫队未回复置评请求。

2026年10月21日，美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫（中）和俄罗斯总统特使基里尔·德米特里耶夫（左）在俄罗斯圣彼得堡与斯蒂芬·哈伯德（右）会面。（视频截图/路透社）

尽管特朗普表示，哈伯德获释“无需任何交换”，但他随后在白宫外告诉记者，并在社交媒体上发帖称，如果他对俄罗斯实施制裁，哈伯德就不会获释。

他说，那些“不懂生活常识”的人质疑他在释放哈伯德的谈判期间放弃对俄罗斯制裁的决定。

“如果我那样做了，哈伯德先生就不会回来了，”他告诉记者。

“如果当初对他实施了那些制裁，或者随便你怎么称呼它们，你就别想再见到他了，你永远都不会再见到他，”他继续说道。“他会被重新关进监狱25年。”

哈伯德获释不到一周前，特朗普阻止了对俄罗斯实施新的制裁，这些制裁旨在针对该国最大的石油和天然气买家，此举招致了支持该法案和乌克兰的国会议员的批评。

维特科夫表示，自去年重返工作岗位以来，本届政府除了与哈伯德谈判外，还与俄罗斯方面谈判释放了其他美国人，包括罗伯特·吉尔曼、克谢尼娅·卡列利娜和马克·福格尔。

克里斯蒂娜·斯塔西斯是一位记者，主要报道国防工业、国家安全、军事/退伍军人事务等领域的新闻。她曾于2024年在《防务新闻》担任编辑助理，协助Sightline媒体集团旗下新闻编辑室处理突发新闻。