# Witkoff thanks Putin after Stephen Hubbard’s release

https://mins.news/en/item/109367

- NBC News, 2026-10-21 10:38 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.nbcnews.com/video/witkoff-thanks-putin-after-release-of-stephen-hubbard-271955525713

> U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin after American Stephen Hubbard was released. Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired schoolteacher, was detained in Ukraine in 2022 and charged with fighting as a mercenary, which he denies.

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