Russia Frees Ex-Marine Robert Gilman After More Than Four Years in Prison

MOSCOW —

Robert Gilman, a former US Marine who spent more than four years in Russian custody, has been released and is on his way back to the United States, President Trump said. Trump said President Vladimir Putin of Russia approved the release "very much on a humanitarian basis," according to Al Jazeera, and that no prisoners were exchanged and no concessions were made in return.

Gilman, 32, was expected to land at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington on Tuesday night, Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to Euronews. "I just spoke to him, and he had one request, a GREAT cheeseburger when he lands. I will take care of that!" he wrote.

Gilman was arrested in January 2022 while traveling by train through Voronezh, a city about 550 kilometers (340 miles) south of Moscow, according to ABC Australia. Russian state media said he was accused of kicking a police officer while drunk. His father, Vladimir Gilman, who moved from Russia to Massachusetts, wrote in a Boston Globe opinion piece in October 2024 that the charge was false, saying his son had fallen ill during the encounter and accidentally kicked the officer, who was unhurt, dropped the charge and never testified at trial, ABC Australia and Al Jazeera reported. Gilman was sentenced to four and a half years, a term that was later extended after Russian authorities accused him of assaulting prison staff, Euronews and Al Jazeera reported.

Health scare drove urgency

Concern over Gilman's condition had been mounting. Eric Lebson of the advocacy group Global Reach, which represents the family, said Gilman was moved in late June from a prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital in what doctors called a "dissociative stupor," ABC Australia reported. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts said Gilman had become "non-responsive" and "essentially catatonic" after a severe bout of pneumonia, calling his condition "near-death" and saying he had endured "physical torture, forced medication, and provocations by Russian authorities," according to Euronews and Al Jazeera.

A US official who spoke with Gilman before departure said he was walking and talking and, "all things considered," appeared to be in good shape, according to ABC Australia. Four doctors were set to examine him during the flight, and his mother, Nina, was traveling with him. Officials said Gilman is likely to be flown next to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas.

Washington pushes for more releases

Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Russia for cooperating with envoy Steve Witkoff on the release, saying it would let Gilman get medical care "here in the United States," Euronews reported. Rubio added that the administration would keep pressing for the return of other Americans it considers unjustly detained. The State Department said it hoped Stephen Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher serving nearly seven years after a Russian court convicted him of fighting for a Ukrainian defense unit, a charge he denies, would be released next, according to ABC Australia. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black is also being held in Russia, Euronews reported.