The hero of the day is my son Matthew, who — despite the continuing absence of electricity — managed to get our wi-fi up this afternoon. He is the IT guy’s IT guy!

But since we’re still operating on limited power from the generator, on which we’re able to plug in a fan and charge our electronics, I don’t want to waste my battery charge, and will keep this short.

Today brought distressing news — aside from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the southeastern U.S. — of the trial of a criminal case being brought against a 72-year-old American accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, according to Russia’s RIA state news agency.

72 years old!!

Details are still sketchy, but Stephen James Hubbard, a Michigan native, has apparently been living in the city of Izyum, Ukraine, since 2014. According to a woman identifying herself on Facebook as Hubbard’s sister (who could not be reached for comment), he was “kidnapped up in the Ukraine” nearly three years ago. [Lucy Papachristou, Reuters, September 27, 2024.]

According to Russian news source Izvestia, a court prosecutor said Hubbard had been paid $1,000 to sign a contract with a Ukrainian territorial defense unit in Izyum in February of 2022, and was captured by Russian forces just two months later. [Id.] The charges against him could bring a sentence of seven to fifteen years.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it was aware of the detention of an American citizen, but made no further comment. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry could not be reached for comment, nor could an attorney for Hubbard. [Id.]

The Moscow court website indicates a hearing scheduled for October 3rd on Hubbard’s case. Perhaps we’ll have more information then. In the meantime, Stephen James Hubbard joins the eight others on our list of American hostages in Russian prisons.

This Cold War mentality is the last thing the world needs . . . but we appear to be stuck with it for now.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/28/24