After months without contact, Stephen James Hubbard, a retired American teacher taken from his eastern Ukrainian home by Russian soldiers shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022, has been located in a Russian prison in Mordovia.
His family had no information on his whereabouts since his criminal conviction in the fall of 2024. But in recent weeks, he has been able to call one of his sons.
Hubbard is the only American remaining in Russia who has been designated by the US State Department as “wrongfully detained,” an indication that the United States believes the charges against him are fabricated. Given the designation, he is likely a top candidate in any potential prisoner exchange being discussed between Russia and the United States.
Hubbard, 73, was accused of manning a checkpoint and fighting for Ukraine, and then convicted by Russia of being a mercenary in October and sentenced to almost seven years in a penal colony.
After that, Hubbard’s family was not able to find him in Russia’s prison system. In a highly unusual move, the Russian judge removed his case file, including even basic information like his lawyer’s name, from public view.
Documents reviewed by The New York Times show that Hubbard is being held in the IK-12 penal colony in Mordovia, the southwestern Russian region commonly referred to as “prison land.”
In addition, sentencing documents reviewed by the Times, which have not been previously reported, outline the Russian case against Hubbard and its contention that he was fighting for Ukraine. Recent interviews with one of Hubbard’s sons and others, as well as text messages he exchanged with that son, contradict the Russian narrative.
Martin De Luca, a lawyer for Hubbard, said his team had talked to him three times since April. On May 28, Hubbard was allowed to call another son, who lives in Cyprus, according to De Luca and Hubbard’s sister.
“He’s had a rough 3½ years,” De Luca said.
Ukrainian prisoners of war who were held with Hubbard told the Times that he had been repeatedly tortured because he was an American — beaten, forced to stand all day, given little food and poor medical care. In interviews after being released, the Ukrainians said they feared for his life. He is the only American known to have been taken from Ukraine and then jailed in Russia.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. So far, the Russian government has made no official statement on Hubbard.
US officials have raised Hubbard’s imprisonment with Russian officials and asked that he be immediately released, a US official recently said. The US Embassy in Moscow has not been granted access to Hubbard, the official said, despite Russia’s obligation under international law to do so. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
In a May 19 phone call, President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia discussed a new potential prisoner exchange, according to Russian news agencies citing Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin aide. Ushakov told reporters that the two leaders had agreed to prepare a humanitarian prisoner exchange of nine people from each side, calling it “an important humanitarian action.”
The United States has accused Russia of inflating and inventing criminal charges against Americans so they can be traded for Russians held elsewhere or used as international bargaining chips.
Hubbard grew up in Michigan, served in the Air Force in California, married young, and later divorced. He then married a Japanese woman he met in Washington state and moved to Japan, where he taught English. Eventually, the couple divorced.
In 2012, Hubbard retired to Cyprus, the home of Joseph Coleman, a son from his first marriage. That is where Hubbard met a Ukrainian woman named Inna, following her to the eastern city of Izium. He earned money by teaching English to a few Japanese students online.
Hubbard was alone at home when the Russians launched their Feb. 24, 2022, full-scale invasion.
“He was, in hindsight, too optimistic, I suppose,” said Hisashi Tanaka, 36, Hubbard’s son from his second marriage, in a recent interview. “He was going to wait it out. He thought he wouldn’t get into too much trouble considering his age and being a civilian.”
The day the war started, Hubbard didn’t seem to be initially aware of what was happening, his son said.
“Don’t get caught in the crossfires!” Tanaka, who lives in Japan, wrote him on Skype.
“I suppose that I should read the news,” responded Hubbard, who had just celebrated his 70th birthday. “It is peaceful here, so far.”
The Russians say Hubbard signed up the next day for the regional territorial defense unit at a recruitment center at a kindergarten in Izium to earn at least $1,000 a month, according to the sentencing documents reviewed by the Times.
The documents claim Hubbard told recruiters he felt healthier than many younger people. “In fact, Hubbard looked sporty and very fit for his age,” the documents say.
The Russians said Hubbard was then trained in combat and how to handle weapons and explosive devices. The documents say he was given the call signs — nicknames — “Samurai” and “Ninja,” and that he manned a checkpoint on a bridge over a river. The Russians also contend that Hubbard stopped working for the territorial defense unit after a few weeks because he feared for his life and that they arrested him inside the home of an acquaintance in April 2022.
But messages between Hubbard and Tanaka in Japan, first on Skype and then through texts on the phones of acquaintances of Hubbard, show no evidence of Hubbard signing up for the military. He repeatedly told his son that all was well.