Russian court sentences 72-year-old American for fighting for Ukraine

Steven James Hubbard given six years and 10 months in prison, but family cast doubt on his reported confession

A Russian court has sentenced a 72-year-old American citizen, Stephen James Hubbard, to six years and 10 months in prison after convicting him in a closed-door trial of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

Investigators said Hubbard, a native of Michigan, was paid $1,000 (760) a month to serve in a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the eastern city of Izyum, where he had been living since 2014.