A US citizen has pleaded guilty in a Moscow court to charges of fighting for Ukraine<\/a>, marking the first known instance of an American being tried as a mercenary in Russia.<\/p>\n Russian state media reported that Stephen James Hubbard, 72, of Michigan, had admitted he had received money to fight for Ukraine against Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I agree with the indictment,\u201d the state news agency Ria Novosti quoted him as saying in court on Monday.<\/p>\n The Kremlin-friendly Izvestia newspaper, citing a prosecutor in court, said Hubbard was paid $1,000 (\u00a3750) after he signed a contract with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the eastern city of Izium in February 2022.<\/p>\n He was captured by Russian forces in April 2022, according to the prosecutor, during the occupation of Izium by Russian troops. The city was later liberated by Ukrainian forces<\/a> in the autumn of 2022.<\/p>\n If convicted of participating in mercenary activities, he could face<\/a> up to 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n Hubbard\u2019s sister Patricia Fox denied her brother was a mercenary and said he was too old for combat. \u201cHe is so non-military,\u201d Fox told Reuters. \u201cHe never had a gun, owned a gun, done any of that \u2026 He\u2019s more of a pacifist.\u201d<\/p>\n