“He lived on $300 a month and just wanted to grow old in peace”: how Ukrainian Izyum became a trap for a 74-year-old American

On October 21, 2026, the release of Stephen Hubbard took place. The story of his kidnapping, torture, and return home ended up in the spotlight of leading American media — The New York Times, CNN, ABC News, Reuters, and CBS News.

Stephen Hubbard taught English in Japan and Cyprus for over 25 years, and in 2014, together with his common-law Ukrainian wife, moved to Izyum in the Kharkiv region. According to Reuters, the man led a very modest lifestyle, effectively living solely on his American pension of about $300 a month, and had few connections with the local population.

When the Russians occupied Izyum in April 2022, Hubbard was not taken prisoner during combat. The American’s lawyer, Martin De Luca, and The New York Times emphasize: Russian military personnel simply kidnapped the elderly man directly from his own home.

To justify detaining a civilian foreigner, the Russian side invented a story that the then 72-year-old pensioner allegedly served in the local territorial defense of Izyum as a “foreign mercenary” for $1,000 a month. American journalists and human rights activists completely refute this version, stressing that Hubbard was a civilian victim of the occupation.

The period of Hubbard’s imprisonment was accompanied by systematic violence.

The New York Times published testimony from Ukrainian prisoners of war who shared cells with the American.

According to them, the Russians brutally abused the elderly man solely because of his American citizenship:

• He was subjected to daily beatings and starved;

• Electric shocks were used against him, and service dogs were set on him;

• He was forced to stand on his feet for days on end and denied necessary medical assistance.

• The guards “intentionally” beat prisoners in the genitals and humiliated them by forcing them to “simulate” sexual acts with one another. Hubbard was also tortured by a prison doctor, who forced prisoners suffering from scabies to remain naked in cold and damp rooms for extended periods. As a result, he caught a cold several times, he added.

Hubbard repeatedly and unsuccessfully demanded to contact his family, as well as American or Ukrainian authorities. He did not understand why the US government could not “get him out of there,” the serviceman said.

The Ukrainian captives who were alongside him expressed serious concerns that, due to his advanced age and sustained injuries, Hubbard might not survive under those conditions.

In January 2025, the US Department of State officially designated Stephen Hubbard as “wrongfully detained.” Until the moment of his release, he remained the only US citizen in the Russian Federation with such official diplomatic status.

The release occurred as a result of lengthy non-public negotiations. According to Financial Times and ABC News, the White House reached the final stage of talks with the Kremlin through the direct participation of Donald Trump, who personally raised the issue. To finalize the details, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg. Following this, the Russian side announced Hubbard’s release as a “gesture of goodwill.”

As CBS News reports, years spent in Russian penal colonies — particularly IK-12 in Mordovia — dealt a severe blow to the 74-year-old man’s health. From Pulkovo Airport, he is being transported by a special aircraft directly to the state of Texas for urgent medical treatment and rehabilitation.

P.S. The New York Times ironizes over the situation: calling Putin a “humanitarian,” Witkoff thanked him for releasing the American. The move buys goodwill with President Trump while costing President Vladimir V. Putin — who is wanted for war crimes — practically nothing.

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