Two Ukrainian men who were held in Russian custody alongside American Stephen Hubbard have provided detailed accounts of the treatment he received during his approximately four-year imprisonment. Dmytro Khyliuk, a journalist, and Ihor Shyshko, a captured Ukrainian soldier, both encountered Hubbard at detention facilities and documented his deteriorating condition over time.
According to their testimonies, Hubbard faced systematic abuse from the moment of his arrival at Novozybkov prison in Bryansk in September 2022. The former prisoners stated that guards singled him out for harsh treatment because of his American nationality, subjecting him to beatings, use of stun guns, sexual humiliation, forced language instruction, and denial of adequate food and medical care. Shyshko alleged that electrocution, beatings on various parts of the body, and forced stress positions were routine components of the detention regime.
Conditions at both Novozybkov and Pakino prisons where Hubbard was held were described as brutal, with inadequate heating in winter, poor sanitation, minimal rations of porridge and bread, and daily physical and psychological abuse. Khyliuk noted that Hubbard’s health visibly declined, and at Pakino, the former prisoner required assistance with basic medical care and bandaging due to severe infections. Khyliuk also claimed that Hubbard was removed from the facility prior to a visit by International Red Cross representatives, suggesting efforts to conceal his condition.
Hubbard was captured in April 2022 during the Russian occupation of Izyum and was subsequently convicted of serving in Ukraine’s armed forces, receiving a sentence of six years and ten months. He was released following a meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Khyliuk was repatriated to Ukraine in August 2025 through a prisoner exchange, while Shyshko’s current status remains unclear from the available information.
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