A Moscow court has sentenced U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, aged 72, to six years and 10 months in prison for allegedly fighting as a mercenary on behalf of Ukraine. The ruling, reported by Russian state media, comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Hubbard, originally from Michigan, was detained by Russian forces in April 2022 and accused of taking part in combat operations against Russia in the embattled city of Izyum, a strategically significant location in eastern Ukraine.
The trial, held behind closed doors, concluded on Monday with the Moscow City Court handing down the sentence. According to Russian state media outlets TASS and RIA Novosti, Hubbard had been charged with acting as a mercenary, a violation that carries severe penalties under Russian law. Prosecutors alleged that Hubbard had signed a contract to fight with Ukrainian forces for a monthly payment of approximately $1,000.
Admission of Guilt
In an earlier hearing held in September, Hubbard pleaded guilty to the charges, reportedly telling the court, “Yes, I agree with the charges.” His admission was seen as an acknowledgment of his role in fighting alongside Ukrainian troops. Russian officials claim that Hubbard was directly involved in combat operations in the Izyum region, which saw intense fighting as Ukrainian forces tried to defend the territory against Russian advances.
Izyum, located in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, has been one of the focal points of the war. For months, the area was a site of bloody confrontations, with both sides sustaining heavy casualties. Russian forces eventually seized control of the city, only for Ukrainian troops to later reclaim it during a major counteroffensive.
Russian state media emphasized that Hubbard’s involvement in the conflict was driven by financial incentives rather than political or ideological motivations. The narrative presented by the prosecution focused on the mercenary aspect, highlighting the $1,000 monthly contract he allegedly signed in exchange for taking up arms against Russia.
Detention and Charges
Hubbard’s capture by Russian forces in April 2022 came during a particularly turbulent time in the conflict, as Russia intensified its efforts to consolidate its hold over parts of eastern Ukraine. His detention marked one of several instances where foreign nationals were accused of participating in the war on behalf of Ukraine, either as volunteers or paid combatants.
Since his arrest, Hubbard has been held in Russian custody, and the details of his detention and interrogation have largely remained undisclosed. His trial, like many others involving foreign nationals, was conducted under strict secrecy, with little information available to the public or the international community.
Russian authorities have used the case to reinforce their broader narrative of foreign interference in the war. Moscow has consistently framed its invasion of Ukraine as a necessary military operation to defend itself against NATO expansion and Western meddling. The portrayal of foreign fighters as mercenaries rather than volunteers fits into this narrative, casting them as opportunists motivated by profit rather than as individuals standing in solidarity with Ukraine.
Other U.S. Citizens Facing Legal Action in Russia
Stephen Hubbard’s sentencing is not the only recent case involving an American citizen in a Russian court. On the same day that Hubbard’s verdict was delivered, another U.S. citizen, Robert Gilman, was sentenced to seven years and one month in prison for allegedly assaulting Russian law enforcement officers.
Gilman, a former U.S. Marine, had already been serving a sentence for a separate offense. In October 2022, he was convicted of attacking a police officer, an incident for which he was originally sentenced to more than four years in prison. That sentence was later reduced to three and a half years.
The new charges against Gilman stem from allegations that he assaulted a prison official and a state investigator while serving his previous sentence in the Russian city of Voronezh. Like Hubbard’s trial, Gilman’s case was also heard behind closed doors, with Russian state media providing the only publicly available information about the proceedings.
The cases of both Hubbard and Gilman have drawn attention to the precarious position of American citizens in Russia, especially as diplomatic relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has intensified its crackdown on both domestic dissent and perceived foreign interference. In this climate, foreigners—particularly those from the U.S. and other Western nations—have found themselves increasingly targeted by Russian authorities.
Diplomatic and Legal Challenges
The U.S. government has yet to publicly comment on Hubbard’s sentencing, but cases involving U.S. citizens in Russian custody have historically been fraught with diplomatic tensions. The State Department has repeatedly warned U.S. nationals to avoid traveling to Russia, citing the risk of arbitrary detention and the difficulties involved in securing legal representation or consular access in the country’s opaque judicial system.
In recent years, several Americans have been detained in Russia on charges that U.S. officials and international observers have described as politically motivated. High-profile cases, such as that of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony for drug charges, have highlighted the challenges that U.S. citizens face when navigating the Russian legal system. Although Griner was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange, her case underscored the complex diplomatic wrangling often required to resolve such incidents.
For Stephen Hubbard, however, the prospect of diplomatic intervention remains uncertain. With his sentencing now complete, he faces a lengthy prison term in a country that has increasingly used its judicial system as a tool in its broader geopolitical conflict with the West. As tensions continue to escalate, Hubbard’s case serves as a stark reminder of the personal toll that the Ukraine war has taken—not only on Ukrainians and Russians but also on foreign nationals caught up in the conflict.