Stephen Hubbard, the American freed from a Russian prison on Wednesday, is back in the US, according to CBS News and News 4 San Antonio. Hubbard, 74, is a retired teacher from Michigan.

His plane landed overnight at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, News 4 San Antonio reported. CBS News reported that Hubbard will get a medical check in San Antonio, as is typical for prisoners freed overseas.

President Trump shared the news with reporters late Wednesday as he returned from a rally in South Carolina, CBS News reported. Trump said Hubbard would visit the White House soon, CBS News and News 4 San Antonio reported. "He is the happiest man around," Trump said, according to News 4 San Antonio.

Trump said the US did not have to free anyone in return. He wrote that there was "no 'swap' necessary," CBS News reported. He also said Hubbard would not have been freed if the White House had not held off new sanctions on Russia passed by Congress, according to CBS News.

The release was announced Wednesday as US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin, CBS News and News 4 San Antonio reported. Witkoff called Putin "a humanitarian." A Putin aide said Putin had pardoned Hubbard, News 4 San Antonio reported.

Hubbard was held for more than four years, according to CBS News and News 4 San Antonio. Russia accused him of fighting for Ukraine after its 2022 invasion. He was sentenced to nearly seven years. His family has always disputed the charges, CBS News reported. The US government had named him wrongfully detained.

His son, a friar, spoke with him by phone before he took off from St. Petersburg. Hubbard sounded better than in their last call in May 2025, the son said, according to CBS News. "I want to embrace him as a son embraces his father," he said.

One of his lawyers said the family had feared he would not come home alive. "Obviously, they're overjoyed, but they feel very much like it's a miracle," the lawyer said, according to News 4 San Antonio, citing the Associated Press. His sister expects him to stay with her in Colorado, the station reported.

News 4 San Antonio reported that Hubbard was the last American the US government had officially listed as wrongfully detained in Russia. Other Americans are still held there, it said.

What we know: Hubbard is back in the US and getting a medical check in San Antonio.
What we don't: When he will visit the White House or leave San Antonio.