Donald Trump has claimed that “numerous people” have called to apologize to him for criticizing his lifting of sanctions against Russia following the Kremlin’s release of a jailed U.S. citizen.
The president confirmed the release of Stephen Hubbard, 74, a teacher originally from Michigan, from Russian detention on Wednesday morning.
Hubbard, who moved to Izyum in eastern Ukraine in 2014, was accused by Moscow of serving in a Ukrainian defense unit to help fight off Russia’s full-scale invasion after it began in February 2022. He was captured in April 2022, and a Moscow court convicted him of being a mercenary and sentenced him to nearly seven years in a penal colony in October 2024.
In a Truth Social post at 6:37 a.m. ET—written in the third person—the 80-year-old president shared that he made a direct appeal to Russian leader Vladimir Putin last week for Russia to hand over Hubbard.
Russia agreed to free Hubbard but did not ask for a prisoner swap as part of the arrangement. The deal came after Trump controversially allowed Russia to export diesel to global markets in a desperate bid to ease the global oil crisis, then waived congressionally approved sanctions aimed at restricting funding for the Kremlin’s war effort just two days before they were due to take effect.
“Numerous people, who requested that sanctions be immediately imposed on Russia, have called to apologize to President Trump in that they didn’t know that he was negotiating the release of Stephen Hubbard, a truly big and important deal for the U.S,” a follow-up Truth Social post at 6:49 a.m. ET read.
“If sanctions would have been placed, certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt.”
“Biden should have done the Hubbard release long ago! What a difference a President makes,” Trump added.
Hubbard, whose lawyer denied the charges against him, was designated by the U.S. government as being wrongfully detained in 2025.
Trump received bipartisan criticism for allowing Russia to export diesel to ease pressure from the gas and oil crisis caused by his war in Iran.
Days later, Trump put on hold a sweeping sanctions package named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham that Congress passed to pressure Moscow into ending its war against Ukraine.
Putin’s agreement to release Hubbard comes at little cost to the Russian leader. There have been fears that Trump will continue to appease Putin as he is desperate to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Trump’s U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg. During the talks, Witkoff praised the Russian president for releasing Hubbard.
“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.”
Witkoff also said the diesel deal arranged by Trump was a sign to Ukraine of what could be achieved through cooperation.
“Your decision to remove export controls on diesel oil from Russia, not just to the U.S. but also to the world at large in the midst of an economic shock, I think that was really important that that happened,” Witkoff told Putin, according to the BBC.
“I know [Trump] is deeply grateful for it.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
