Former Ukrainian prisoners describe torture of freed American Stephen Hubbard in Russian prison

The key facts

Stephen Hubbard, 74, freed after four and a half years in captivity; former Ukrainian prisoners Dmytro Khilyuk and Ihor Shyshko describe beatings, electric shock torture and humiliation.
Hubbard was captured in April 2022 in Izium, sentenced in Moscow to 6 years and 10 months on charges of serving in Ukraine's armed forces.
The release coincided with the Witkoff-Putin meeting; Trump said he had asked Putin to free Hubbard by phone a week earlier.

Testimony of former prisoners

Ukrainians held alongside freed US citizen Stephen Hubbard told the BBC they saw him being beaten and humiliated by Russian guards throughout four years of imprisonment. Journalist Dmytro Khilyuk met Hubbard in September 2022 at the Novozybkov prison in Bryansk region, near the border with Ukraine. According to him, guards threatened and mocked the American from the very first days. Captured Ukrainian soldier Ihor Shyshko added that Hubbard's nationality set him apart from other inmates: he was forced to learn Russian, sing the anthem and repeat the rules of the daily routine, which he could not read.

Allegations of torture and cruel treatment

Shyshko claims he saw and heard guards beating Hubbard and using an electric stun gun on him. According to him, the American was kept in the cold, deprived of food and medical care, and subjected to sexual humiliation for the entertainment of the prison staff. 'He was always treated more harshly because he was an American. They claimed he was a mercenary and said: let's beat him,' the BBC quotes Shyshko as saying. The testimony of both Ukrainians is consistent with statements by Hubbard's family that he was tortured in captivity.

Conditions of detention and health

Khilyuk described conditions in Novozybkov as extremely harsh: broken windows, bitter cold, inmates huddling together in the bathroom to keep warm. He heard Hubbard's complaints and increasingly frequent calls to the prison doctor, indicating deteriorating health. In the next prison, Pakino, to which both Ukrainians were transferred along with Hubbard, his condition, according to Shyshko, worsened: 'There was not a single patch on his knees and legs without rot.' Shyshko says he himself bandaged Hubbard in the medical unit because the doctor did not want to do it, while the American was too weak and could barely move. The former prisoners describe a harsh regime, a meagre diet of porridge, bread and potatoes, daily beatings, forced running and stress positions, as well as the use of a dog that was set on inmates.

Concealment from the Red Cross

Khilyuk claims that shortly after the transfer to Pakino, Hubbard was hidden to conceal his condition from visitors from the International Red Cross. 'An international humanitarian organisation receiving substantial funding could work better. They saw only what they were shown and were satisfied with it,' he said. The International Committee of the Red Cross stated: 'In any situation where the ICRC is granted access, we ask to see every person and assess their conditions of detention. We continue to discuss this issue with the parties to the conflict.' Khilyuk added that in 2024 Hubbard disappeared from the prison, and he assumed he had been freed. Khilyuk himself was returned to Ukraine in August 2025 as part of a prisoner exchange.

Circumstances of the release

The 74-year-old Hubbard, a former English teacher, was captured in April 2022 when Russian soldiers occupied the eastern city of Izium, where he lived with his Ukrainian partner. He was charged with serving in Ukraine's armed forces and in 2024 was sentenced in Moscow to 6 years and 10 months in a penal colony. He was freed by the Kremlin after four and a half years in captivity on the same day that US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg to discuss the war in Ukraine. Witkoff called the Russian president a 'humanist' despite the ongoing full-scale invasion and daily Russian strikes on Ukraine. US President Donald Trump said he had asked Putin to free Hubbard during a phone call a week earlier.

Reaction

Khilyuk said he was glad of Hubbard's release and return to the US: 'I know what it means to be in terrible captivity. Moreover, this was not his war. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.' However, he called the timing of the release 'shameful PR for the US president, who is losing votes in the congressional elections.' Shyshko expressed hope that one day their tormentors would face justice: 'Evil must be punished, and it will be. I hope for that.' Khilyuk compared Russian captivity to Stalin's regime, calling it a 'torture machine' that crushes a person from the first second of detention — from psychological to physical pressure.