Retired US teacher freed from Russian prison says he only believed it when given new clothes

Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from the US state of Michigan, gave his first public comments on Friday since being freed from a Russian prison. He was released on 21 October and spoke during a visit to US President Donald Trump at the White House. The case matters because many in the international community see his release as part of wider diplomacy surrounding Russia's war in Ukraine.

Hubbard said he had been told many times that he would be freed, but never trusted it, following a philosophy of "seeing is believing" and "actions speak louder than words." He began to believe only when prison staff gave him new clothes and led him to the exit. He then saw a car and was accompanied by a couple of Russians. Only during the drive from Moscow to St Petersburg did he fully believe he was really going somewhere.

Charges and Trump's role

Hubbard spent more than four years behind bars. Russia charged him with fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022. His legal team denies the accusations and says he took no part in any military activity.

Trump has previously said he asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin to free Hubbard and that the US did not have to release anyone in exchange. Hosting Hubbard in the Oval Office on Friday, the president said: "He was somebody I wanted to get back." The White House admitted only a limited pool of journalists to the meeting, mainly news photographers and a television crew.

Political context

Many in the international community perceive the release as Russia's latest attempt to bring Trump closer to Putin's position on the war in Ukraine. It also gave Trump a diplomatic win ahead of the 3 November midterm elections, in which his Republican party is expected to lose seats in Congress.