Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, on Wednesday. Special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed it while meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. "Because of you, he's going home to his family," Witkoff told Putin. His family says Hubbard had lived in eastern Ukraine and taught English there since about 2014. Russian forces detained him there in April 2022. A closed trial in Russia convicted him of fighting as a mercenary and sentenced him to nearly seven years. The State Department designated him wrongfully detained, and advocates call the charges bogus. He's expected to fly to a Texas military hospital. Five days earlier, President Donald Trump waived Russia sanctions. Congress had passed them in a bill named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. Witkoff also brought Putin the Western plan to end the war. He went over it Tuesday with Ukrainian and European leaders in Oslo.

The Waiver Helped Bring Him Home (Trump, Witkoff, Rep. Thomas Massie)

The White House says skipping the sanctions kept the talks alive, and Hubbard's release shows it worked.

Sanctions would have ended the talks. Trump made that case on Truth Social on Wednesday. "If sanctions would have been placed, certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt," he wrote. He said "numerous people" who wanted the sanctions "called to apologize" because they didn't know he was negotiating Hubbard's release.

No prisoner swap was needed, Trump says. He wrote that Russia freed Hubbard "out of respect for President Trump" and that the U.S. "was not required to give anything in return."

The talks could lead to a ceasefire. After meeting Putin, Witkoff said there is "a foundation in place to move toward a ceasefire."

Some Republicans back the waiver. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, backed it last week. He said he was "glad" Trump waived "almost all the provisions of this stupid law that pertain to Russia."

But the Waiver Rewards Putin (Sens. Thom Tillis, Kevin Cramer, Richard Blumenthal, John Cornyn, Volodymyr Zelenskyy)

Lawmakers in both parties and Ukraine's president said in the days before the release that skipping the sanctions hands Putin a win.

Give in to Putin now and he'll demand more later. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday that "capitulating to a bully generally means they're going to make more demands going forward." Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said it's "unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine."

Congress passed these sanctions by a wide margin. The Senate vote was 86-11, Tillis said. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who helped write the bill, called the waiver a "craven, cowardly action." Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, wrote that Graham "would be appalled."

Sanctions relief only encourages more attacks on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said easing the sanctions amounts to "financial rewards for Putin" and "only encourages him to keep attacking."

Moscow celebrated the waiver. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev called it "an important and truly historic moment."

Still, Putin's Answer to the Peace Plan Matters Most (Finland's Alexander Stubb, Zelenskyy)

European leaders and Kyiv say the real test is how Putin responds to the peace proposal Witkoff carried.

Putin's reply matters most. Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Tuesday that the Oslo talks brought "genuine progress." He added, "What matters most is what kind of message Steve Witkoff receives in St. Petersburg." Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Witkoff would present the Western proposal for ending the war.

Kyiv already backs an energy truce. Zelenskyy said Ukraine "immediately supported American proposal for an energy ceasefire." He said Ukraine would stop hitting Russian energy sites if Moscow stops hitting Ukraine's. "Let's see what Putin has to say," he said.

There's no answer from the Kremlin yet. Russian state news agency TASS reported that Putin would study all of Witkoff's proposals. The Associated Press reports that Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on terms.

And He Should Be the First of Many (Foley Foundation, Families of Detained Americans)

Advocates and families say other Americans are still locked up in Russia and want them home next.

About two dozen Americans are still imprisoned in Russia. The Foley Foundation, a hostage advocacy group, gives that count. ABC News counts at least eight U.S. citizens and two dual nationals held by Moscow.

A bigger deal may be close. Two U.S. officials told ABC News on Tuesday that the administration was "closing in" on a deal to free multiple Americans. They cautioned that "nothing has been finalized."

Some families feel forgotten. The family of Michael Leake, an American held in Russia, wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he was "left behind" in the 2024 prisoner trade. Hubbard's sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, wrote to Trump in August that her brother had suffered "constant beatings, torture and starvation."

Where This Lands

Trump says the waiver kept the talks alive and brought Hubbard home. On Sunday, before the release, Cramer warned that giving in to Putin invites more demands. Zelenskyy called the waiver a reward for Putin. Stubb says Putin's answer to Witkoff matters most. TASS says Putin will study Witkoff's proposals. Families of the other Americans held in Russia are waiting on the bigger deal that U.S. officials say is close.

Sources