Joseph Coleman feared he would never again see his father, Stephen Hubbard, when they had a brief phone conversation last year while Hubbard was in a Russian prison. "He was expressing a very extreme tiredness with life, the life that he was experiencing at that time. I don't want to say suicidal thoughts, but the conversation hinted it leaned in that direction," Coleman, a Greek Orthodox priest, told CBS News on Wednesday in his first television interview since his father's release.
Hubbard's release was announced earlier Wednesday during a meeting between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hubbard, a U.S. citizen, was imprisoned in Russia for more than four years after being accused of fighting for Ukraine. The U.S. government had deemed Hubbard wrongfully detained.
President Trump said Putin had agreed to release Hubbard at his request, with "no 'swap' necessary," though he also said that his decision to waive new sanctions against Russia played a role in Hubbard's release. In a one-minute phone call with his father before Hubbard took off from St. Petersburg, Coleman said he sounded better than he had during their last conversation in May 2025.
Witkoff was also present, leaving little opportunity for a private exchange. "I want to embrace him as a son embraces his father. I want to personally assess his health to make sure he's well," Coleman said.
He said he would also give his dad space to adjust to freedom and expected to see Hubbard later that evening. Coleman, who lives in Cyprus, did not grow up in the same home as Hubbard, who was divorced from Coleman's mother. He said the family had lost track of Hubbard entirely for roughly three years after his detention.
Martin De Luca, Hubbard's U.S.-based attorney, told CBS News that when his legal team took on the case in February 2025, neither the family nor the U.S. Embassy knew precisely where Hubbard was being held. Lawyers in Russia eventually located him and arranged for legal visits, money for food and basic necessities, and the brief phone call with his son.
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