Russian Court Drops Hammer on 72-Year-Old American: Ukraine Fight Lands Him Behind Bars
In a shocking turn of events, a Russian court has sentenced Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old American from Michigan, to nearly seven years in prison. His crime? Allegedly fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.
The Moscow City Court handed down the verdict on Monday following a trial shrouded in secrecy. Judge Alexandra Kovalevskaya ordered Hubbard to serve six years and ten months in a general-security prison, slightly less than the seven years prosecutors initially sought.
Hubbard’s case burst into the public eye on September 27, when his trial began. Russia has kept mum on where and how they captured him. The charges against Hubbard paint a picture of a man who joined Ukraine’s fight against Russian forces after the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Prosecutors claim Hubbard pocketed at least $1,000 a month to join a Ukrainian defense unit. They say he trained, got a combat uniform, and jumped into the fray. Russian news outlets report that Hubbard admitted to these charges.
The elderly American looked worse for wear during his court appearances. He shuffled slowly, dragging his feet. His unkempt beard and frail demeanor hinted at the toll of his ordeal.
This case isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s part of a worrying trend of American arrests in Russia. Some fear these detentions could be bargaining chips for future prisoner swaps.
Just hours after Hubbard’s sentencing, another American felt the full force of Russian justice. Robert Gilman, already serving time for assault, got slapped with an extra seven years and one month. His new crime? Allegedly attacking prison staff and an investigator.
These cases follow a massive U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange in August. That swap, the biggest since the Soviet Union crumbled, involved 24 people and multiple countries. Yet, several Americans still languish in Russian jails.
Russia often paints foreign fighters in Ukraine as mercenaries, regardless of their actual status. It’s part of a larger story Moscow tells, portraying Ukraine’s government as shady or even “Nazi-like.” They’ve never backed up these claims with solid proof.
Russians make up the largest group of foreign fighters in Ukraine’s forces. Americans? They’re just a drop in the bucket. Before Russia’s big push in 2022, only about 15 U.S. citizens were reportedly fighting.
Hubbard’s story is particularly intriguing. Russian media says he’d been living in Izyum, a city in northeastern Ukraine, since 2014. Russian forces briefly held Izyum in 2022 before Ukraine took it back in a lightning-fast move.
A video on pro-Russian YouTube channels in May 2022 might shed some light. It shows a disheveled man who says he’s Stephen James Hubbard from Big Rapids, Michigan. He claims he moved to Ukraine in 2014. Was this the same man just sentenced? It’s hard to say for sure.
These cases raise some big questions. Is Russia targeting Americans on purpose? How will this affect already tense U.S.-Russia relations? And what about the Americans still stuck in Russian prisons?
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, these arrests add another layer of complexity to an already messy situation. They serve as a stark reminder of the human cost of this conflict, reaching far beyond the battlefield.
For now, Hubbard and Gilman face long years in Russian prisons. Their cases are cautionary tales for Americans considering involvement in the Ukraine conflict. They also highlight the precarious position of U.S. citizens in Russia during these turbulent times.
As this story unfolds, one thing is clear: individual lives can become powerful pawns in the high-stakes game of international politics. The world waits to see how the U.S. will respond to these latest developments.