6 days ago
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LONDON -- President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Russia on Wednesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and oversee the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan who had been in Russian detention since 2022.
Witkoff landed in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning, a Kremlin aide confirmed, ahead of the planned meeting with Putin.
Trump's envoy thanked Putin for freeing Hubbard, according to a readout of the meeting published by the Kremlin. Putin said that Hubbard -- who was detained in eastern Ukraine in April 2022 -- was taken to St. Peterburg's Pulkovo Airport, the readout said.
"I want to thank you very much. The president sends his thanks," Witkoff said, according to the Kremlin readout. "Because of you, he's going home to his family," Witkoff added, describing Putin as "a humanitarian."
