Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old United States citizen, has been sentenced to six years and 10 months in a Russian jail for allegedly fighting for Ukraine as a mercenary. Hubbard, originally from Michigan, was accused of serving in a Ukrainian territorial defense unit in the city of Izyum, where he had been living since 2014. Russian investigators claimed he was paid $1,000 a month and received training, weapons, and ammunition before being detained by Russian soldiers.
Hubbard’s case was brought to light last month when his closed-door trial began, and he entered a guilty plea. The court granted a request to hold the proceedings in secret without media present. Despite his lawyer planning to appeal the sentence, the US State Department expressed disappointment at the lack of consular access to Hubbard.
Hubbard’s family has expressed doubts about his reported confession and stated that he held pro-Russian views, making it unlikely for him to take up arms. According to his sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, Stephen lived in Ukraine with a Ukrainian woman, surviving on a small pension. They described him as an isolated figure who had grown distant from some family members during his time teaching English abroad in countries like Japan and Cyprus. Hubbard is one of at least 10 Americans imprisoned in Russia, following a recent prisoner swap that saw the release of three American detainees.
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