Stephen Hubbard Freed After 74-Year-Old Veteran's 54-Month Detention

Former cellmates described the daily beatings, cold, and medical neglect endured by Stephen Hubbard during his detention in Russia. The 74-year-old retired English teacher was released after 54 months in custody. His two Ukrainian counterparts, Dmytro Khyliuk and Ihor Shyshko, provided specific accounts of the physical treatment they witnessed while imprisoned with him.

Khyliuk, a journalist, first encountered Hubbard at the Novozybkov prison in September 2022. He stated that Russian guards identified the American immediately, using obscenities and threats from the start. Shyshko, a captured soldier, confirmed that Hubbard's nationality made him a target. He recalled being forced to learn Russian, sing the national anthem, and recite prison rules he could not read because he could not read Cyrillic.

Shyshko reported seeing guards strike Hubbard on the legs, back, and arms. He also described the use of a stun gun on the American. The cellmates said Hubbard was denied adequate food and medical care. Shyshko alleged that prison staff subjected Hubbard to sexual humiliation for amusement. The men described the food as porridge, bread, and potatoes, and the routine as involving forced running and stress positions.

The conditions in Novozybkov were described as severe. Khyliuk noted broken windows and bitter cold that forced detainees to huddle in bathrooms for warmth. He observed Hubbard's health decline over several months, noting that guards summoned him to the prison doctor with increasing frequency. The men later met Hubbard again at the Pakino prison, where his condition worsened significantly.

Shyshko described seeing rot on Hubbard's knees and feet at Pakino. He stated that the prison doctor refused to treat the wounds, prompting Shyshko to bandage Hubbard himself. Shyshko also recounted an incident where a handler set a dog on prisoners to bite them. Khyliuk claimed that Hubbard was hidden from International Red Cross staff soon after the transfer to conceal his physical state. The Red Cross stated it asks to see every individual when granted access and continues talks with conflict parties.

Hubbard was captured in April 2022 when Russian forces occupied Izyum, the Ukrainian city where he lived. Russian courts convicted him of serving in Ukraine's armed forces and sentenced him to six years and 10 months. His release came after four and a half years in detention. The Kremlin freed him on the same day that US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.

Witkoff referred to Putin as a humanitarian following the meeting. US President Donald Trump stated he had asked Putin to free Hubbard during a phone call the previous week. Khyliuk, who returned to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange in August 2025, called the release timing shameful public relations for a president losing votes in congressional elections. He noted that Hubbard was not fighting a war of his own making.

Khyliuk compared the experience of Russian captivity to the Stalin era, calling it a torture machine. Shyshko expressed hope that the perpetrators would face justice in the future. He stated that evil must be punished. The accounts from the two Ukrainians support statements made by Hubbard's family regarding the torture he suffered in prison.