After more than four years in Russian custody, 74-year-old Stephen James Hubbard was released on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Hubbard grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan, and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and National Guard. He taught in Japan for nearly 25 years and moved to Izium, Ukraine, in 2014.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff was involved in the announcement on Wednesday. Major news outlets reported that Hubbard was aboard a jet that landed in Texas late Wednesday night.

“Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family,” President Donald Trump said via Truth Social. “The United States was not required to give anything in return — an unprecedented situation for Russia.”

Trump also said he contacted Putin directly by phone to negotiate the release.

Hubbard was detained by Russian forces in Ukraine in 2022 and was sentenced two years later on allegations of being a Ukrainian mercenary.

The United States designated Hubbard as “wrongfully detained” in January 2025, saying there was no evidence of him being a combatant. He was the oldest American held in Russia with that designation at the time of his release.