The U.S. citizen freed Wednesday after spending more than four years in a Russian prison did not realize he was being released until he was taken aboard a plane and saw the American flag, according to his sister.

Stephen Hubbard, 74, was brought to San Antonio for evaluation after his release. "He didn’t know why he was being taken from the prison to Moscow, and he may have thought he was going to his death," said his sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox. She described his reaction as "relief laughing," saying, "Oh my God, you know, I’m free. This is really happening."

President Donald Trump stated that he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call earlier this month to release Hubbard. Trump requested the release of Hubbard, a retired teacher from Michigan, who was accused of fighting alongside Ukrainian forces following Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.

In 2024, Hubbard was sentenced in closed court proceedings to nearly seven years in prison. The U.S. government, under the Biden administration, had designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained. His legal team also contested the Russian allegations, asserting he was not involved in any military activity.

Hubbard Fox reported that her brother endured severe starvation and beatings in prison, to the point where some of his fellow Ukrainian inmates had to assist him. She recalled Russian guards telling him, "Die, American. Die," which she said fueled his determination to survive.

Hubbard, a U.S. Air Force veteran, had taught English abroad and retired in 2012 to Cyprus, where his son is an Orthodox Christian priest. He later relocated to Ukraine to be with a woman he had met, according to his lawyers, and remained there after their relationship ended. He was in Ukraine at the time of Russia’s invasion.

Hubbard Fox learned of her brother's whereabouts after a woman in Ukraine contacted her, having seen his name on a prison roster. "God doesn’t answer prayers immediately sometimes, but he always answers my prayer," Hubbard Fox said. "And I said, 'Jesus, get him home.'"

She added that her brother would likely live with her in Colorado, and both were anticipating a family reunion.