The Trump administration is close to a deal with Russia that would free several Americans held there, ABC News reported Tuesday, citing two U.S. officials and another source. The talks center on Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old retired teacher and the only American in Russian custody the State Department officially calls wrongfully detained. Officials stressed nothing is final, and the deal could still fall apart or change.
“I’ve been talking to President Putin about Mr. Hubbard,” President Trump told reporters. “At length, I’ve asked him to release them. Let’s see what happens.” A day earlier, he said he was “trying to get a hostage that the country has been after for a long time,” adding, “That’ll be soon.”
Who is Stephen Hubbard?
A retired American teacher who was living in Ukraine when Russia invaded. Russia accused him of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine and sentenced him to prison. The U.S. disputes that and designated him wrongfully detained, a label that puts the government’s hostage team on the case. At least eight Americans are currently in Russian custody, and the deal under discussion would include others the administration believes are held on dubious charges.
What would Russia get in a prisoner deal?
That’s not clear. In past swaps, like the 2024 exchange in Ankara that freed Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, Russia got its own people back from U.S. and European prisons. This time, nobody has said. Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, said Hubbard’s name was “certainly familiar” but that he had “nothing to report,” and that “Dialogue on all these issues is ongoing through intelligence service channels.” The White House declined to comment.
The talks are being led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway on Tuesday and is expected in Moscow this week.
Has Stephen Hubbard been released?
Update, Oct. 21: Yes. Russia freed Hubbard on Wednesday while envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, and the Kremlin called it a goodwill gesture, NBC News reported. Trump says Hubbard is “on his way back home” and that the U.S. gave nothing in return, though he credited his sanctions waiver for keeping talks alive. Read our full story on his release.
The BeezLoop Take
Getting Americans home from Russian prisons is a good thing, full stop, and Hubbard has been held long enough. If this deal happens, the families deserve relief, and the administration deserves credit for it.
But the timing raises fair questions. In the last two weeks, Trump waived Russia sanctions, cut a diesel deal with Moscow and told Ukraine to find a new negotiator. Americans should know whether any of that was part of the price. A prisoner deal shouldn’t be paid for with Ukraine’s security.
The open question: if Hubbard and others come home, what did Russia get in return, and will the White House say?
Also on BeezLoop: Trump said Zelenskyy should get somebody else to negotiate, and Trump waived Russia sanctions two days before they took effect.
Sources: ABC News, via Yahoo News · AFP (video)
