In this photo released by the Moscow City Court Press Service, Stephen Hubbard, a U.S. citizen accused of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine against Russia stands in a glass cage during a court session in the Moscow City court in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 7, 2024.Photo by Moscow City Court Press Service via AP

Russian court sentences 72-year-old American to 7 years in prison for fighting in Ukraine

Stephen Hubbard is the first American known to have been convicted on charges of fighting as a mercenary in the Ukrainian conflict

· National Post

MOSCOW – A Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old American in a closed trial to nearly seven years in prison for allegedly fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.

Prosecutors said Stephen Hubbard signed a contract with the Ukrainian military after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and he fought alongside them until being captured two months later.

Derek Burney: Give Ukraine what it needs to end this warUkraine’s Aug. 6 incursion into the Kursk region of Russia was a surprise to both Moscow and Washington. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s bold gamble — the first invasion of Russia by foreign forces since World War II — was intended to throw Russian President Vladimir Putin off balance and to demonstrate to Ukraine’s queasy allies what it can do when it has the right equipment. U.S.-provided HIMARS rocket launchers were critical to the advance. Ukraine’s former defence minister, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, told CNN the invasion was the first of several innovative surprises Kyiv was planning.Derek H. Burney, 04 Sep 2024Adam Zivo: Ukraine's counter-invasion of Russia shows the power of western supportSome people say that western aid to Ukraine is inconsequential, but Kyiv’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk province shows otherwise. Evidently, when we give the Ukrainians the weapons they need to defend themselves, that translates into battlefield success.Adam Zivo, 13 Aug 2024