Cellmates Detail Treatment of US Citizen Held in Russia

A retired American teacher was subjected to physical abuse and humiliation while held in Russian prisons, according to two Ukrainians who shared cells with him.

Dmytro Khyliuk and Ihor Shyshko were incarcerated with Stephen Hubbard for more than four years. Khyliuk, a journalist, met him at Novozybkov prison in 2022. He said guards immediately focused on the American, asking for his cell and using obscene language. "They threatened him, they mocked him from the first days," Khyliuk said. Shyshko, a soldier, recalled Hubbard being forced to sing the Russian anthem and learn rules he could not read. Shyshko stated he witnessed guards beat Hubbard, use a stun gun on him, and deny him food and medical care.

Hubbard was detained in April 2022 in Izyum, where he lived with his Ukrainian partner. He was accused of serving in Ukraine's armed forces, convicted in Moscow, and sentenced to six years and 10 months. The accounts from his cellmates support statements by his family regarding his treatment in prison.

Khyliuk described hearing Hubbard's health decline, with guards frequently bringing him to the doctor. He noted broken windows and bitter cold at Novozybkov. The men later saw him at Pakino, where Shyshko said Hubbard's condition worsened significantly. "There was not a single spot on his knees or on his feet without rot," Shyshko said. He added that he bandaged Hubbard because a doctor refused to, and that Hubbard was too weak to move. Prisoners were given porridge, bread, and potatoes, and faced daily beatings and forced running.

Khyliuk claimed Hubbard was hidden from International Red Cross visitors to conceal his state. "They saw only what was shown to them and they were happy with that," he said. The International Committee of the Red Cross says it asks to see every individual when granted access and is discussing the matter with parties to the conflict.

Hubbard disappeared from prison in 2024, and Khyliuk assumed he had been released. Khyliuk returned to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange in August 2025. He compared the treatment to the Stalin era. "Russian captivity is a torture machine," he said.

Russia released Hubbard, 74, after four and a half years on the day US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Witkoff called Putin a "humanitarian". US President Donald Trump said he had asked Putin to free Hubbard in a call the prior week.

Khyliuk was glad Hubbard was freed, noting "it was not his war." He called the timing "shameful PR of the US president, who is losing votes in elections to Congress". Shyshko hopes the perpetrators face justice. "Evil must be punished, and so it will be," he said.