Oct 22 (Reuters) – Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired US schoolteacher, from prison on Wednesday, as Moscow and Washington held a new round of talks about settling the war in Ukraine.
At least nine publicly identified Americans are believed to remain imprisoned in Russia, although the full number may be higher.
While Hubbard was in prison, the US State Department formally designated him as wrongfully detained, a status that placed his case under a dedicated US government process for securing his release. Other imprisoned Americans lack that designation, potentially reducing the scope for efforts to free them.
Here are details on some of the cases:
ALEKSANDR ANTONOV
A US-Russian-Ukrainian citizen, Antonov was detained at passport control in Russia in spring 2025 after travelling to attend to business in Russian-controlled Crimea and family in Ukraine.
He was later sentenced to six years in a prison colony on charges of inciting terrorism and extremism, based on pro-Ukrainian comments posted online. He pleaded guilty.
CHUCK ZIMMERMAN
Zimmerman, a US Navy veteran, was intercepted in June 2025 by the Russian Navy as he sailed on the Black Sea during a round-the-world sailing trip, according to his family. He was charged with arms smuggling after a rifle was found on board his boat.
He was sentenced in late 2025 to five years in prison, according to a verdict published in January.
GORDON BLACK
An active duty US Army staff sergeant formerly based in South Korea, Black was detained in May 2024 in Russia’s Far East on suspicion of stealing money from his Russian girlfriend.
A court found Black guilty of stealing 10,000 roubles ($123) from the woman and threatening to kill her, sentencing him to three years and nine months in prison. The sentence was reduced by seven months in 2025, following an appeal.
US officials have said the Army has stopped paying Black’s wages and may prosecute him for violating its rules if he returns to the US.
DANIEL JOSEPH SCHNEIDER
A court in Kaliningrad region sentenced Schneider to six years in prison in September 2024 for kidnapping his own son, after he tried to leave Russia with the 4-year-old without permission from the boy’s mother.
Schneider was detained near Poland by Russia’s border service while trying to cross the border in a forest swamp, the court said.
MICHAEL TRAVIS LEAKE
A musician and former US serviceman, Leake was sentenced to 13 years in prison in July 2024 on drug-related charges.
Leake pleaded not guilty following his arrest in June 2023.
ROBERT ROMANOV WOODLAND
A US citizen adopted from Russia as a child, Woodland had moved back to Russia and was working as an English teacher when he was arrested on charges of attempting to sell drugs.
He was sentenced in July 2024 to 12 years and six months in prison. His lawyer said Woodland had partially admitted guilt. In 2025, a court reduced his sentence to nine years and six months.
EUGENE SPECTOR
A Russian-born US citizen and former pharmaceutical executive, Spector was convicted of espionage in a closed trial and sentenced in late 2024 to 15 years in a penal colony. He was first arrested in 2020 on bribery charges.
Before his arrest, Spector served as chairman of the board of Medpolymerprom Group, a company specialising in cancer drugs, state media said. He had pleaded guilty to helping bribe an assistant to a former Russian deputy prime minister. It was not clear how he pleaded to the espionage charge.
DAVID BARNES
Barnes was sentenced by a Russian court in February 2024 to 21 years on charges of abusing his two sons in the United States. Barnes, who had been involved in a custody dispute with his Russian ex-wife, denied all the charges.
The allegations had previously been investigated in Texas, where authorities found no grounds to charge him. In 2025, a court increased his sentence by six months.
ANDRE KHACHATOORIAN
An Armenian-American from Los Angeles, Khachatoorian was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2023 for arms smuggling. He was arrested in 2021, while travelling from California to Armenia via Moscow, after a firearm was found in his luggage.
Khachatoorian said that his firearm was legally owned in the US, and that he was tricked into applying for a Russian visa at the airport, and removed from the transit zone, where he could be arrested under Russian law.
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Xevi Fontdegloria)
