Russian court jails US citizen for nearly seven years on ‘mercenary’ charge

Stephen Hubbard, 72, was detained in eastern Ukraine in April 2022 and accused of fighting for Ukraine.

A Russian court has jailed a United States citizen for six years and 10 months after convicting him in a closed-door trial of fighting for Ukraine as a mercenary.

Investigators said Stephen Hubbard, who is originally from the US state of Michigan, was paid $1,000 a month to serve in a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the eastern city of Izyum, where he had been living since 2014.

They alleged the 72-year-old signed up in February 2022, just before Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and was provided with training, weapons and ammunition.

Hubbard was detained by Russian soldiers two months later.

Hubbard’s case first became public late last month when his trial began and he entered a guilty plea. At a hearing last week, the court granted the prosecutors’ request for the proceedings to be held in secret without the media.