Russia released former US Marine Robert Gilman on humanitarian grounds after more than four years in detention, US President Donald Trump announced following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The move followed appeals from American officials amid a serious decline in Gilman's health.
Gilman, a 32-year-old US citizen and English teacher who served briefly in the military, was detained in Voronezh in southwestern Russia in January 2022. A Russian court convicted him of attacking a police officer while intoxicated. His family disputed that allegation. His original four-and-a-half-year prison sentence was later reduced by one year.
His legal position worsened in 2025, when a Russian court added a 10-year sentence over three further alleged attacks, according to the pro-Kremlin news agency Interfax as cited by the Kyiv Independent. The supplied evidence does not describe those incidents or state how Gilman responded to the additional accusations.
Health concerns became urgent after Gilman was hospitalized in June with a serious medical condition. Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer at the Global Reach advocacy group, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Gilman was experiencing dissociative stupor in hospital and alleged that he had endured harsh and abusive treatment while imprisoned. The extract does not include a response from Russian authorities to the treatment allegation.
After his release, Gilman boarded a flight bound for Washington, accompanied by his mother, Nancy, and US officials. Plans called for him to be transferred to Texas for treatment after reaching the United States. No detailed diagnosis, prognosis or treatment schedule was disclosed in the evidence supplied.
Trump said Russia did not seek another prisoner in return and that the release was not an exchange. He credited a team that included special envoy Steve Witkoff, hostage-response envoy Adam Boehler, senior counterterrorism director Sebastian Gorka and Jared Kushner.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Russia for working with Witkoff to free Gilman and permit his medical care in the United States. Rubio also said Washington continued to seek the return of other Americans it considers unjustly detained, specifically naming Stephen Hubbard as a wrongful detainee.
The release took place against a record of prisoner exchanges between Russia and the United States under both Trump and former president Joe Biden. Russia has faced accusations that it imprisons Western nationals to obtain leverage for the return of Russians held abroad. That broader allegation is part of the diplomatic context, but the available evidence says Moscow released Gilman without receiving a prisoner in return.
Several aspects of Gilman's case remain contested. His family rejected the basis of his first conviction, an advocacy official alleged mistreatment, and Russian courts imposed further punishment for later accusations. The supplied record does not resolve those disputes. It does establish that medical concerns prompted US appeals, that Moscow described its action as humanitarian, and that Gilman left Russian custody after four years.
The immediate priority shifted from diplomacy and detention to care. His planned journey through Washington to Texas was intended to give him access to treatment that US officials said he needed, while American authorities kept pressure on Moscow over the other citizens still held in Russia.
