Putin announces release of imprisoned US citizen during meeting with Witkoff

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old US citizen held in Russian custody since 2022, had been freed and was at St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport.

Mr Putin did not give further details in comments published by Russian state media on Wednesday, local time.

He made the announcement during a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.

Mr Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher from Michigan, had been serving a nearly seven-year prison sentence in Russia following a conviction for mercenary activity at a closed-door trial.

He was arrested in April 2022 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, where Russian prosecutors alleged he had been manning a Ukrainian military checkpoint.

Russian state media reported he pleaded guilty to the charges. But his US-based lawyer, Martin De Luca, previously told Reuters Mr Hubbard said him the charges were false and that he was not in any combat or military unit.

At the time of his release, Mr Hubbard was the only US prisoner held by Russia who was designated by Washington as "wrongfully detained".