Trump hosts Stephen Hubbard after four-year Russian detention

President Donald Trump met with Stephen Hubbard in the Oval Office on October 30, marking the former prisoner's return to Washington less than seven days after his release.

Hubbard, a retired teacher from Michigan, spent more than four years in Russian custody on charges that he served as a mercenary in Ukraine. His legal team has consistently denied the allegations, asserting he had no involvement in military activity. Trump previously stated that he asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure Hubbard's freedom and that the United States did not have to release any detainees in exchange.

The White House restricted access to the meeting, admitting only a limited pool of news photographers and a television crew. During the conversation, Trump remarked that Hubbard was someone he wanted to bring back. Hubbard described the emotional uncertainty of his time in detention, noting that he heard many promises of release but rarely trusted them. He explained that he adopted a mindset of "actions speak louder than words" and "seeing is believing" throughout his captivity.

Hubbard told Trump that he only accepted his freedom when prison officials provided him with new clothes and escorted him to an exit. "Only when they started giving me new clothes and leading me to the exit of the prison," Hubbard said, "I went out and I saw the car, and I was accompanied by a couple of Russians, then I believed, finally believed, on the drive from Moscow to St. Petersburg, 'I'm really going somewhere.'"

The meeting concluded with the two men reviewing the details of the prisoner exchange. No further official announcements were made regarding the next steps in Hubbard's reintegration into civilian life in the United States.