A Russian court has sentenced American citizen Stephen James Hubbard to six years and ten months in prison after finding him guilty of serving as a mercenary in Ukraine during a closed trial. Investigators reported that Hubbard, 72, from Michigan, was paid $1,000 a month to serve in a defense unit of the Ukrainian army in the eastern city of Izum, where he had lived since 2014.
The state news agency RIA quoted a prosecutor as saying last month that Hubbard was arrested by Russian soldiers on April 2, 2022, just weeks after Moscow deployed thousands of troops to Ukraine.
Russian state media stated that Hubbard accepted the charges against him. However, in an interview last month, Hubbard’s sister and mother, along with other relatives, expressed doubts about his admission of guilt, stating that he held pro-Russian views and it was unlikely he would have taken up arms at his age.
“He is very non-military,” said his sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, to Reuters last month. “He has never had a weapon, not even a pistol. He is more of a pacifist,” she added.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow stated that they are aware of the arrest of an American citizen but did not provide further details.
Hubbard is one of at least 10 Americans imprisoned in Russia. Two months ago, Moscow and the West engaged in a prisoner exchange, which included three American citizens.
