Prisoners recount Hubbard beatings

Four and a half years. That is the duration of Stephen Hubbard’s detention in Russian prisons, a period during which two Ukrainian cellmates say he was systematically beaten and neglected. Dmytro Khyliuk, a journalist, and Ihor Shyshko, a captured soldier, provided detailed accounts of the abuse they witnessed while held with the 74-year-old American citizen.

Khyliuk first met Hubbard in September 2022 at the Novozybkov prison in Bryansk. He stated that guards singled out the American immediately. "They came during inspections and were asking: in which cell is the American? And then they used obscene words. They threatened him, they mocked him from the first days," Khyliuk said. Shyshko added that Hubbard was forced to learn Russian, sing the national anthem, and recite rules he could not read.

Shyshko described physical violence that included beatings on the legs, back, and arms, as well as shocks from a stun gun. "They beat him on the legs, on the back, on the arms," he said. The men reported that Hubbard was denied food and medical care and kept in the cold. Shyshko also alleged that prison staff subjected Hubbard to sexual humiliation.

Hubbard was captured in April 2022 in Izyum, Ukraine, and convicted in Moscow of serving in the Ukrainian armed forces. He received a sentence of six years and ten months. Khyliuk noted that Hubbard’s health deteriorated in neighboring cells. He described broken windows and bitter cold, with detainees huddling in bathrooms for warmth. Khyliuk said conditions at Novozybkov were worse than at subsequent facilities.

Upon transfer to Pakino, Shyshko observed that Hubbard’s condition worsened. "There was not a single spot on his knees or on his feet without rot," he said. Shyshko bandaged Hubbard at the medical center after a doctor refused to do so. The prisoners described a diet of porridge, bread, and potatoes, alongside a routine of forced running and stress positions. Shyshko also recalled a handler using a dog to bite prisoners.

Khyliuk claimed that Hubbard was hidden from International Red Cross staff after the transfer to Pakino. "They saw only what was shown to them and they were happy with that," he said. The Red Cross stated that it asks to see every individual when granted access and continues talks with conflict parties. Khyliuk, who returned to Ukraine in August 2025, called the system a torture machine.

The Kremlin released Hubbard on October 23, the same day US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Witkoff referred to the Russian president as a humanitarian. President Donald Trump said he requested Hubbard’s release in a phone call with Putin the previous week. Shyshko said he hopes the perpetrators face justice, adding, "Evil must be punished, and so it will be."