Who is Stephen Hubbard, the US citizen held by Russia?

By Lucy Papachristou Oct 20 (Reuters) US special envoy Steve Witkoff is going to discuss the possible release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard from Russian detention with President Vladimir Putin this week, according to people familiar with the matter. Here are details of Hubbard s case:WHO IS ​STEPHEN HUBBARD? Hubbard, 74, a retired schoolteacher, grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan, and served ‌in the US Air Force and National Guard, according to military records cited by the New York Times. He earned a master’s degree in English and lived in Japan for 25 years where he taught English before moving to Cyprus and then, in 2014, to Izyum in eastern Ukraine with a Ukrainian partner, according to his sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox. Fox ‌told Reuters ​in 2024 that Hubbard subsisted on a pension of about $300 ⁠a month and had few connections ⁠with local people. The siblings last spoke in September 2021. HOW WAS HE CAPTURED? Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022 and