The release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired American English teacher, has ended more than four years of imprisonment in Russia for his family. But the wait continues for as many as 10 other Americans still held in Russian custody.
Hubbard was jailed on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Details surrounding the cases of those still detained are difficult to establish because Russian authorities tightly control information released from the country.
Americans detained in Russia
Among those remaining in Russian prisons and labour colonies is Travis Michael Leake, an American rock musician who fronted the Moscow-based band Lovi Noch.
Leake, who had lived in Moscow since 2010, was arrested in 2023 and accused of organising the sale of drugs. He was convicted of drug-related offences and sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2024.
His family told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Leake had been “left behind” after he was excluded from a prisoner exchange in Ankara in August 2024 that brought three other US nationals home.
A representative for Leake has said he is innocent, telling CBS News: “Travis is no drug dealer.” In a recorded message from prison, Leake said: “I’m sorry I’m not a journalist. I’m sorry I’m not a basketball player. I’m sorry I’m not somebody that’s important.”
Robert Woodland returned to Russia after spending most of his life with a US foster family, hoping to find his birth mother. He said in a Russian newspaper interview in 2020 that he had decided to move there after connecting with her through a Russian television programme.
Woodland partially pleaded guilty to Russian drug-trafficking charges in 2024 and was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison. His sentence was reduced to nine and a half years in 2025, but his lawyer, Stanislav Kshevitskii, said there had been no further updates to the case.
David Barnes was sentenced to 21 years in a high-security Russian penal colony after travelling to Russia during a custody dispute involving his two sons.
Barnes and his Russian former wife had been involved in a bitter legal battle in Texas. She accused him of sexually abusing the boys, but US law enforcement found insufficient evidence to bring charges. Texas judges repeatedly ruled between 2014 and 2018 that Barnes should remain a joint custody guardian.
After his former wife took the children to Russia in 2019, Barnes travelled there to pursue visitation rights. He was again accused of sexual abuse by his former wife and later convicted by a Russian court. Barnes has maintained his innocence in a letter to his sons.
Daniel Schneider is also being held in connection with an international child custody dispute. He travelled to Russia to reunite with his four-year-old son, a Russian citizen, and was arrested in July 2023 while attempting to cross into Poland with the boy.
Schneider was later sentenced to six years in prison for kidnapping after prosecutors said the child’s mother had not consented to him leaving Russia.
US Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black was stationed in South Korea when he travelled to Russia in May 2024 to visit his girlfriend. US officials and Russian authorities said he was arrested after she accused him of stealing money.
Black was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. A Russian court later reduced the term to three years and two months.
Prison sentences and espionage charges
Retired US Navy veteran Charles Wayne “Chuck” Zimmerman was sailing around the world aboard his private boat when he reached the Black Sea in June 2025. His family says he was ordered to follow a Russian Navy vessel to Sochi under threat of military action.
Zimmerman followed the vessel and voluntarily declared a firearm on board. He was arrested, convicted of arms smuggling and sentenced to five years in prison in January 2026.
His sister, Robin Stultz, alleges that Russian authorities have denied him access to US diplomatic representatives. She has also said she would not trust any confession attributed to him.
Andre Khachatoorian was detained during a stopover in Moscow in December 2021 while travelling from California to Armenia to visit his wife’s family.
Supporters say he sought access to his checked luggage to retrieve medication, at which point police found a locked firearm case. They maintain that he had the correct paperwork for the weapon and allege that a Russian officer tricked him into applying for a Russian visa before removing him from the airport.
Khachatoorian was convicted of arms trafficking and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in 2023.
Eugene Spector, who was born in Russia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2024 in an espionage case. The allegations against him have not been made public, and his trial was held behind closed doors.
Spector had previously pleaded guilty to facilitating bribes to an aide to a former Russian deputy prime minister and was sentenced to three and a half years in 2022. New espionage charges were brought against him the following year.
Aleksandr Antonov, a naturalised US citizen, travelled to Ukraine and Russia on business. He was detained at a Russian passport check in March 2025 after officers noticed his US passport and alleged that his phone contained Telegram messages expressing anti-Russian sentiment.
Antonov was eventually sentenced to six years for inciting terrorism and extremism. Current and former US officials said the State Department was considering whether to designate him as wrongfully detained.
