Trump Says He Has Asked Putin to Release Detained American Stephen Hubbard: 'It's Time'

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has personally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to release Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher held in a Russian prison since the early days of the war in Ukraine.

"I've been talking to President Putin about Mr. Hubbard. I've been talking to him at length. I've asked him to release him. Let's see what happens," Trump said in the Oval Office, according to ABC News. "I'd love to get him back. It's time. It's time to have Mr. Hubbard back."

Trump at first hesitated when a reporter asked whether a deal was close. "I don't want to talk about it, but everybody's been after Hubbard for a long time, long before I got here," he said, according to USA Today. "Just remember that question for a couple of days from now."

Who Is Stephen Hubbard

Hubbard is a retired English teacher from Michigan who was living in eastern Ukraine when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, USA Today reported. Russian forces captured him early in the war and took him to Moscow, where a court convicted him of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine and sentenced him in 2024 to nearly seven years in prison.

The State Department has designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained. ABC News reported that he is the only American held in Russia with that official designation.

Talks Said to Be in Final Stages

ABC News reported Tuesday, citing two U.S. officials and another source familiar with the matter, that the administration is closing in on a deal with Moscow that would free several Americans held in Russia, with talks centered on Hubbard. Sources say Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have led the negotiations, which are said to be in the final stages. Officials cautioned that nothing has been finalized and the deal could still fall through or change, according to ABC.

Witkoff is set to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday for talks on ending the war in Ukraine. A White House official told USA Today the trip "is also expected to include efforts to seek the release of wrongfully detained American citizen Hubbard."

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Tuesday that "dialogue on all these issues is ongoing through intelligence service channels." He said Hubbard's name was "certainly familiar" but that he had "nothing to report," ABC News reported.

It is not clear what Russia might receive in return. In recent days, Trump has waived new sanctions on Russian officials and oligarchs that Congress passed by wide margins, a move that drew criticism from some Republicans.

At least eight American citizens and two dual U.S.-Russian nationals are being held by Moscow, according to ABC News.

Hold Everyone Accountable.

Sources: ABC News, "US nearing deal with Russia to free multiple jailed Americans: Sources" (Oct. 20, 2026): https://abcnews.com/Politics/us-nearing-deal-russia-free-multiple-jailed-americans/story?id=137415614 ; USA Today via Yahoo News, "Trump suggests he is nearing deal with Putin to free detained American" (Oct. 20, 2026): https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-suggests-nearing-deal-putin-195819626.html ; The Hill, "Trump teases release of Stephen Hubbard" (Oct. 20, 2026): https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6160973-trump-stephen-hubbard-release/