Freed US Citizen Described as Brutalized in Russian Prisons by Former Cellmates

Stephen Hubbard, 74, spent four and a half years in Russian custody before his release on October 23, 2026. Two Ukrainian men who shared cells with the American citizen described a period of physical abuse and medical neglect. Dmytro Khyliuk, a journalist, and Ihor Shyshko, a soldier, said Russian guards targeted Hubbard for his nationality from the moment he arrived in September 2022.

Khyliuk first met Hubbard at the Novozybkov prison in Bryansk. He recalled guards using obscene language and mocking the American during inspections. Shyshko said Hubbard was forced to learn Russian, sing the national anthem, and recite prison rules he could not read. The soldier stated that guards beat Hubbard on his legs, back, and arms, and used a stun gun on him. Hubbard was denied food and medical care and kept in cold conditions.

Hubbard was captured in April 2022 in Izyum, Ukraine, where he lived with his partner. Russian authorities accused him of serving in Ukraine's armed forces. A Moscow court convicted him and sentenced him to six years and ten months. The two Ukrainians were held with him while he awaited trial. Their accounts align with statements from Hubbard's family regarding the treatment he received in prison.

Khyliuk described Hubbard's health declining while they were in neighboring cells. The journalist heard Hubbard complain frequently and noted that guards summoned him to the prison doctor with increasing regularity. Khyliuk said the cells had broken windows and bitter cold. Detainees huddled in bathrooms for warmth during time outside their cells. He said conditions at Novozybkov were worse than at the next facility.

The men later met Hubbard at the Pakino prison, where Shyshko said his condition worsened. Shyshko described visible rot on Hubbard's knees and feet. The soldier banded Hubbard's wounds at the medical center after a doctor refused to do so. Hubbard was weak and had difficulty moving. The prisoners described a daily diet of porridge, bread, and potatoes, along with routine beatings and forced running. Shyshko also reported that a handler set a dog on prisoners to bite them.

Khyliuk claimed that Russian officials hid Hubbard from visiting International Red Cross staff to conceal his condition. He said the Red Cross saw only what was shown to them. The International Committee of the Red Cross stated that it asks to see every individual wherever it is granted access. It continues talks with conflict parties on this issue. Khyliuk said Hubbard vanished from the prison in 2024, leading him to assume release. Khyliuk returned to Ukraine in August 2025 in a prisoner exchange.

The Kremlin released Hubbard on the same day US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Trump said he asked Putin to free Hubbard in a phone call the week before release. Witkoff called Putin a humanitarian. Khyliuk called the timing shameful public relations for the US president. Shyshko said he hopes the perpetrators will face justice and that evil will be punished.