After Russia released an American prisoner, President Trump’s special envoy praised President Vladimir V. Putin as “a humanitarian.” Our White House and national security correspondent, David E. Sanger, describes how the release comes amid Mr. Trump’s broader shift toward Russia and away from Ukraine.

Mr. Hubbard, a 74-year-old teacher, was held for more than four years on what the State Department called fabricated charges.

© Moscow City Court Press Service

The move buys good will with President Trump while costing the President Vladimir V. Putin — who is wanted for war crimes — little.

© Moscow City Court, via Associated Press

The president called for the return of Stephen James Hubbard, a Michigan teacher seized from his home in Ukraine months after Russia invaded that country.

© Moscow City Court, via Reuters

The stakes in Ukraine are much larger than the fate of one nation.

© Damon Winter/The New York Times

Staying quiet is riskier than speaking up, Ukrainian officials say, as President Trump goes further than ever in prioritizing Russia’s interests.

© Ludovic Marin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The series of recent steps by the president that seem to favor Vladimir Putin reflect his intensifying desire to normalize the relationship with Moscow even if it means further undercutting Ukraine.

© Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he didn’t want to believe that Washington wanted an end to the war at Ukraine’s expense. “But that’s how it looks,” he added.

© Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press