Donald Trump has weighed in. On October 21, he wrote that many individuals who had previously called for immediate sanctions against Russia are now phoning to apologize to President Trump, as they were unaware he was engaged in negotiations to secure the release of Stephen Hubbard. This, he emphasized, represents a truly significant and consequential deal for the United States. Were sanctions imposed, those negotiations would have been entirely and permanently terminated.
Clearly, Trump’s remarks serve as a pointed response to the hawkish faction within the U.S. establishment advocating strong measures against Russia. The underlying message is straightforward: if the original course of aggressive sanctions had been pursued, would Stephen Hubbard ever have been returned? The reason I chose not to take that path was not due to any lack of toughness toward Russia, but rather to preserve diplomatic space—necessary to achieve this major transaction and bring the individual home.
As for the claim that “many are now calling to apologize to President Trump,” this appears consistent with his longstanding pattern of self-promotion, intended to underscore his status as a master negotiator. Who exactly is Stephen Hubbard? He is a retired educator, aged 74, who served in the U.S. Air Force and settled in Izyum, eastern Ukraine, in 2014. Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russian authorities accused him of joining a local defense unit in Ukraine as a mercenary. After being captured, he was sentenced to six years and ten months in prison.
Just prior to Trump’s statement, Hubbard had already been released by Russian President Vladimir Putin on humanitarian grounds, during a meeting in Saint Petersburg between U.S. envoy Keith Krach and Putin. Trump, however, claims credit for the outcome. His emphasis on this case is not primarily about the return of an individual—it is far less about the human aspect than about projecting an image of personal influence over Russia. The real objective is political: to demonstrate his ability to manage relations with Moscow, thereby bolstering his public standing—an aim that clearly takes precedence in his calculus.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1879669914942464/
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