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US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands after speaking to the press before a private meeting, in the Vice President's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus on September 26, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP)
A Moscow court on Friday began hearing the case of a 72-year-old American man accused of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.
“Moscow City Court began hearing the criminal case of 72-year-old American… over participating as a mercenary in the armed conflict on the side of Ukraine,” RIA Novosti news agency said.
It identified the man as Stefan Hubbard but said his name could be spelled differently, with posts on social media suggesting the name could be Stephen Hubbard.
“We are aware of the reports of the arrest of an American citizen. Due to privacy restrictions we are unable to comment any further,” the US embassy in Moscow said in a statement.
The pensioner from Michigan moved to Ukraine in 2014, RIA Novosti said.
The reports did not make clear when or how the American arrived in Moscow.
At the hearing at Moscow’s highest city court, a judge agreed to the prosecutor’s request to detain him for six months on the grounds that he could try to flee, remanding the man in custody until March 26, 2025.
The next hearing in the case was set for next Thursday.
Participating as a mercenary in an armed conflict is punishable by up to 15 years in prison under Russian law.
A video posted on YouTube channels in May 2022 showed a man who gives his name as Stephen James Hubbard and said he was in the city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region.
The man says he was born in the town of Big Rapids, Michigan, and came to Izyum in 2014.
He looks dishevelled with a long beard and dirty nails.
Russia occupied part of the Kharkiv region including Izyum in spring 2022 shortly after launching its offensive, and Ukraine retook Izyum in September 2022.
Russia has arrested several US citizens in recent years on charges ranging from espionage and criticising the Russian army to petty theft and family disputes.
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