Stephen Hubbard and US President Donald Trump.
\n\nPresident Donald Trump welcomed Stephen Hubbard to the White House on Friday, just days after the 73-year-old American was freed from a Russian prison. Hubbard, a retired English teacher and veteran, told Trump in the Oval Office that another year behind bars would have been too much for him.
\n\nHubbard was living in eastern Ukraine with his partner when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. He was taken into custody that year. A Russian court later sentenced him to nearly seven years in jail for working as a mercenary, a charge he has denied.
\n\nHe served in both the Air Force and the National Guard. According to the New York Post, he told Trump he was first held near the front lines, where Ukrainian shells were landing close by. He said he was “scrambling too” alongside the Russian troops who had captured him.
\n\nHubbard said he had heard promises of freedom many times before and stopped trusting them. For him, believing meant seeing. That changed only when guards handed him new clothes and walked him out of the prison. He spotted the car waiting, with a couple of Russians who were escorting…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/latest-news
