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Trump Says He Asked Putin To Free American Teacher Jailed In Russia

Written by TNNBot on

President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, that he asked President Vladimir Putin to release Stephen James Hubbard, an American jailed in Russia.[1]

Trump said he has been "talking to President Putin" and that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to travel to St. Petersburg this week to seek Hubbard's release.[1] Hubbard, 74, was seized in Ukraine after Russia's 2022 invasion and is serving more than six years in a Russian penal colony on mercenary charges the United States says are fabricated.[1] The State Department has formally declared Hubbard "wrongfully detained." New York Times

Hubbard was seized in Ukraine after Russia's 2022 invasion and later convicted by Russian authorities on mercenary charges.[1] U.S. officials say the charges are fabricated and the State Department labeled him wrongfully detained.[1] Trump has also been pressing Ukraine to accept terms to end the invasion and complained that the United States "got nothing back, other than high diesel." New York Times

The planned trips by private envoys to meet with Putin will be watched as part of a broader set of negotiations involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine.

  1. New York Times
U.S.-Russia Relations Detained Americans Abroad Ukraine War Diplomacy
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📌 Key Facts

  • On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Trump said in the Oval Office he has been "talking to President Putin" and asked him to release Stephen James Hubbard.
  • Stephen James Hubbard, a 74-year-old Michigan teacher seized in Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion, is serving more than six years in a Russian penal colony on mercenary charges the U.S. says are fabricated.
  • The U.S. State Department has formally declared Hubbard "wrongfully detained."
  • Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to travel to St. Petersburg this week to seek Hubbard’s release in talks with Putin.
  • Trump is simultaneously pushing Ukraine to accept terms to end Russia’s invasion and has complained that the U.S. has "got nothing back, other than high diesel."

📰 Source Timeline (1)

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October 20, 2026
8:47 PM
Trump Says He Asked Putin to Release an American Jailed in Russia
Nytimes by Luke Broadwater