Colorado woman seeks release of brother detained in Russia

CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- KRDO13 spoke with the sister of a 74-year-old American citizen who has now been detained in Russia for over three years after being accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

In light of Pueblo native Dennis Coyle being released by the Taliban after receiving support from the Trump administration, Patricia Hubbard tells KRDO13 she hopes her brother is not forgotten.

"He's my sibling. He's my only sibling," Patricia says. "I haven't even slept in my bed because I figured he doesn't have a bed. Why should I get to sleep in a bed?"

Patricia, who lives in Chaffee County, denies her brother Stephen Hubbard's involvement in the war and is begging for his release as his health continues to decline. She says she hasn't spoken to her brother since 2021, before the war between Ukraine and Russia began.

Since his capture, he's reportedly been starved and tortured. Patricia is scarred by a video in which she saw her brother being beaten during his capture.

"You can hear him crying, saying, 'I don't understand. I don't understand' Because they're yelling and screaming at him in Russian as they're beating him. He's saying I don't understand, and you can hear him crying. I can hear that. I'll never un-hear it."

Stephen Hubbard has spent decades traveling the world and teaching English. He has three sons and a daughter.

"He don't deserve this," Patricia says. "He has to take beatings as a senior. Is this what all of us seniors in this country are supposed to look forward to?"

Patricia says she's battling depression, but she won't give up. She believes Stephen won't give up either. She says she's willing to give anything to bring him home.

"If Putin happens to see this or something, I'll trade my life for my brother's. Let him come home, and you can take me. Siblings share everything. Take me."

The State Department says Hubbard has been wrongfully detained in Russia, confirming that Russians detained him shortly after invading Ukraine.

Stephen is reportedly in poor health.

In a joint statement to KRDO13, the offices of Colorado senators Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper said both the offices "have been and will continue working with the State Department to bring Stephen home."

In October 2024, Stephen pleaded guilty to mercenary charges and was sentenced to six years and 10 months in a prison colony. Patricia believes he would have been executed had he not agreed to those terms.

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