Stephen Hubbard, US schoolteacher captured by Russia in 2022, freed by Putin in goodwill gesture

The prisoner release comes as President Donald Trump’s recent gestures toward Moscow, including a deal to buy Russian diesel and a waiver of new sanctions, have already sparked bipartisan pushback in the US Congress and worry in European capitals. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin had freed Hubbard, 74, at Trump’s request, and that he had also taken into account the American’s poor health. Trump later confirmed he had asked Putin on a call in recent days, and Putin agreed. “The president sends his thanks, our whole nation sends their thanks, because of Stephen Hubbard,” Witkoff told Putin in the…