By Ahmed Abdelsalam
Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, was released from a Russian prison on October 21 after more than four years behind bars. He had been charged with fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, accusations his legal team denied.
In his first public remarks since release, Hubbard said he only believed he would be freed when he was given new clothes and led to the prison exit. He described the drive from Moscow to St. Petersburg as the moment he finally believed he was “really going somewhere.”
White House Meeting
Hubbard visited the White House on Friday and met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Trump said he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to free Hubbard and that the United States did not release anyone in return. “He was somebody I wanted to get back,” Trump said.
Political Context
The release is widely seen as a Russian maneuver to draw Trump closer to Putin’s position on the war in Ukraine. It also provides Trump a diplomatic victory ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, where Republicans are expected to lose congressional seats.
