US citizen's 'torture' in Russia retold by Ukrainian cellmate

When Ukrainian serviceman Igor Shyshko summarised his two years of detention in Russia alongside 72-year-old US citizen Stephen Hubbard, three words came to mind: torture, humiliation, hunger.

After being held incommunicado for two and a half years, Hubbard suddenly appeared in a Moscow court last month where he was sentenced after a closed trial to nearly seven years behind bars for allegedly taking up arms and fighting for Ukraine.

He was captured in April 2022, just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine and Washington says it has had only "limited" information on this case because Moscow has refused to share any details.

On September 27 -- just 10 days before the verdict was handed down -- Russia announced for the first time that it had been holding Hubbard, who appeared pale and frail in the Moscow court.

Shyshko was taken prisoner in May 2022 and released in an exchange in May 2024.

Shyshko said Hubbard was subjected to the same treatment as the Ukrainians: beaten, humiliated and starved by their guards, adding that he personally witnessed abuses inflicted on Stephen Hubbard and endured the same himself.