Witkoff Calls Putin a "Humanitarian"
On Oct. 21, 2026, Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan who had been held for more than four years. Russian forces detained him in Ukraine early in the 2022 invasion, and in 2024 he was sentenced to nearly seven years on mercenary charges he denied. He was the last American in Russia whom the State Department had formally designated as wrongfully detained. The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin pardoned him on "humanitarian considerations." The release came during a visit to St. Petersburg by special envoy Steve Witkoff, with Jared Kushner joining by video. The Kremlin said Putin had also agreed to resume talks with the U.S. and Ukraine. Trump said he had asked Putin for Hubbard's release in a phone call the week before and that "there was no 'swap' necessary." He tied the release to his decision days earlier to waive the new sanctions in the Lindsey Graham Russia sanctions law, writing that imposing them would have brought the negotiations "to a complete and total halt." Thanking Putin on camera, Witkoff told him "You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that." Republicans and Democrats rebuked him. Sen. Thom Tillis wrote "WTF, Steve?" and Sen. John Cornyn wrote "Putin is a stone cold killer." Sens. Susan Collins, Joni Ernst and Mark Kelly also rejected the description, and Sen. Mark Warner said he was "disgusted." Vice President JD Vance defended Witkoff as a diplomat doing his job. Trump said Witkoff's words served "that particular purpose" but that he "wouldn't say anything one way or the other." Virginia lawmakers noted that at least five other Americans remain in Russian custody, including Chuck Zimmerman of Salem, Va.
“[To Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, on camera, thanking him for Stephen Hubbard's release:] I wanted to thank you very much. The president sends his thanks. Our whole nation sends its thanks. … Because of you, he's going home to his family. … You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again.”