US Close to Deal With Russia to Free Jailed Americans, Officials Tell ABC News

Since Trump and Putin last spoke by phone on Oct. 9, the administration has eased sanctions on Moscow and leaned harder on Kyiv. Now, as Special Envoy Steve Witkoff heads from Oslo to Russia, officials say a prisoner deal is close.

Two U.S. officials and another source familiar with the talks told ABC News that the administration is nearing an agreement that would free multiple Americans held in Russia. Witkoff and Jared Kushner have led the negotiations, which the sources described as being in their final stages.

The officials cautioned that nothing is final. The terms are coming into focus, they said, but the deal could still collapse or change in scope.

Who is Stephen Hubbard

The talks have centered on Stephen Hubbard, a retired English teacher from a small town in Michigan. He was living in eastern Ukraine when Russia invaded in February 2022. Russian forces captured him at the start of the war and took him to Moscow, where a court sentenced him to seven years in prison.

Russian authorities accuse him of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. He is the only American held in Russia whom the State Department has officially designated as wrongfully detained. The sources said the talks also cover several other U.S. citizens held on charges the administration believes are dubious.

What Trump said

Trump spoke about the case twice this week. On Monday he said he was "trying to get a hostage that the country has been after for a long time." "Let's see what happens," he said. "That'll be soon."

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the Oval Office, he said he had raised Hubbard with Putin directly. "I've been talking to President Putin about Mr. Hubbard. I've been talking to him at length. I've asked him to release him," Trump said. "It's time to have Mr. Hubbard back."

When a reporter asked whether a deal was close, he hedged. "I don't want to talk about it, but everybody's been after Hubbard for a long time, long before I got here," Trump said. "Just remember that question for a couple of days from now."

A White House official, speaking anonymously, said Witkoff's trip "is also expected to include efforts to seek the release of wrongfully detained American citizen Hubbard." The White House declined to comment on the reported deal itself.

Moscow's response

Russia has not confirmed anything. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Tuesday that "dialogue on all these issues is ongoing through intelligence service channels." He called Hubbard's name "certainly familiar" but said he had "nothing to report."

Neither Washington nor Moscow has said what Russia would receive in exchange, or whether any Russian prisoners would be part of the arrangement.

The sanctions backdrop

The timing is drawing scrutiny. After the Oct. 9 call, Trump announced the U.S. would import Russian diesel to lower fuel prices. He later waived sanctions on Russia that were due to take effect within days.

Leaders in Europe and Ukraine have objected. They accuse Trump of trying to push Zelensky toward capitulation, according to USA Today's account of the reaction. Members of Congress from both parties, including several Republicans, have also criticized the White House for appearing to side with Putin while Russia escalates attacks on Ukraine.

No source has linked those sanctions moves to the prisoner talks. The diesel announcement and the waiver both came before the officials described the deal as near, and the White House has not tied them together.

The administration's position, in Trump's words, is that Hubbard has been a target of U.S. efforts for years, predating his presidency. Bringing home a man held for more than four years is a goal few would dispute. The open question is the price.

Witkoff's trip

Witkoff met Zelensky in Oslo on Tuesday with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Støre said Witkoff would go next to St. Petersburg for talks with Russian leadership. Stubb said Witkoff is expected to present Putin with a proposal for a partial ceasefire covering energy and food infrastructure.

Zelensky said the working document includes security guarantees modeled on NATO's Article 5. "Different types of security guarantees are included in the document, which Steve will share with the Russians, and we will hear their feedback," he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hopes a meeting can be arranged "in the very near future" so Witkoff can brief Putin on his contacts with the Ukrainians and Europeans.

Trump said Tuesday that "Russia wants to end the war but Ukraine needs to want it too," adding that "we gave Ukraine a lot and got nothing in return."

Witkoff is due in Russia on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Whether Hubbard is on a plane home by the time he leaves is the first test of what officials are calling a deal in its final stages.