In brief
Stephen Hubbard, arrested in 2022 in Russian‑occupied Izyum, faces accusatory claims that Russian guards beat, electrocuted and sexually humiliated him while he was held in Novozybkov and Pakino prisons. Former Ukrainian detainees Dmytro Khyliuk and Ihor Shyshko detail relentless abuse, forced humiliation and the harsh living conditions that left Hubbard in a weakened state. Despite reports by the International Committee of the Red Cross that cannot fully see his condition, Hubbard was released in a prisoner exchange on the day U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin. The case underscores the ongoing human rights crisis linked to the war in Ukraine and triggers calls for justice from both the U.S. and Ukrainian sides.
Stephen Hubbard, a freed U.S. citizen, has raised hard‑to‑ignore allegations of torture while held in a Russian prison, according to former Ukrainian detainees who shared their own experiences in Novozybkov and Pakino.
The 74‑year‑old American was arrested by Russian forces in April 2022 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum and was subsequently convicted in a Moscow court on charges that he had served in a Ukrainian defence unit. Hubbard’s sentence of nearly seven years in a penal colony was only enforced after a prison term and a “humanitarian” exchange that took place on the day U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
According to Ukrainian soldiers and journalists Dmytro Khyliuk (51) and Ihor Shyshko (74), Hubbard was singled out for beatings, electric shocks and public humiliation. Khyliuk recounts how guards “used obscene words, threatened him and mocked him from the first days,” noting that his American nationality made him an easy target for the officers.
Shyshko added that Hubbard was forced to learn Russian, recite the national anthem and repeat the prison schedule – a humiliating exercise that “attracted such attention because they mocked him.” He also alleges that Hubbard suffered sexual humiliation intended to amuse the guards.
Both men witnessed Hubbard’s physical decline: “He was beaten on the legs, on the back, on the arms… they didn’t give him food or medical care, and kept him in the cold.” Khyliuk described dire conditions in Novozybkov, with broken windows, biting cold and detainees huddling in bathrooms to stay warm.
After being transferred to the tighter‑controlled Pakino prison, the conditions worsened. Hubbard’s wounds “were rotten” and he was subjected to “scabies and other infections.” Khyliuk reports that the Russian prison staff hid Hubbard’s deteriorating state from a team of International Red Cross visitors to conceal the evidence.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it could not “see every individual and assess the conditions they are held in.” The Russian withdrawal of the prisoner was, according to U.S. officials, a direct result of pressure from Donald Trump, who reportedly urged President Putin to free Hubbard.
Both Ukrainian witnesses hope for justice: “Evil must be punished,” said Shyshko, while Khyliuk noted the timing of the release as “shameful PR” for the U.S. presidency amid election pressures.
Hubbard is now on his way back to the United States, where he will join a group of freed prisoners that have flown from Russia in the past months. The cases remain a stark reminder of the human cost of the war in Ukraine.
