Russia Releases Ex-Marine Gilman
PHOTO CAPTION: FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, who serves a prison sentence for assaulting a Russian police officer in 2022, attends a court hearing in Voronezh, Russia April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Vladimir Lavrov/File Photo
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 — Russia on Tuesday released former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, who had been imprisoned in the country since 2022, after President Vladimir Putin approved a pardon on humanitarian grounds, according to President Donald Trump and U.S. officials.
Trump said Gilman, 32, was released after discussions with Putin and was expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews near Washington on Tuesday night. He said Russia did not seek a prisoner in return and that no exchange took place.
“I am proud to announce that American Citizen Robert Gilman, a former United States Marine, is coming HOME!” Trump wrote on social media. “We appreciate this decision, and the fact that Russia asked for no one in return — No exchange took place.”
The White House and State Department had urged Moscow to free Gilman so he could receive medical care in the United States. U.S. officials said Putin approved a pardon for Gilman, who had been imprisoned in Voronezh, about 340 miles, or 550 kilometers, south of Moscow.
Health concerns remain
The exact condition of Gilman’s health remains unclear. Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, an advocacy group representing Gilman’s family, told Reuters last week that Gilman had been transferred in late June from a prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital in a catatonic-like condition assessed as a “dissociative stupor.”
A U.S. official who spoke with Gilman after his release said he was walking and talking. “All things considered he seems to be in good shape,” the official said.
Trump’s post included a photograph of a gaunt-looking man aboard a plane surrounded by smiling people holding an American flag. Trump said he had spoken with Gilman, who requested a cheeseburger when he landed.
“I will take care of that!” Trump wrote.
Four doctors were expected to evaluate Gilman during the flight, U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity. Afterward, he was likely to be flown to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, for medical treatment.
Release followed weekend negotiations
Gilman served in the U.S. Marines from August 2019 until August 2020 and was arrested in Voronezh in January 2022 while traveling by train, Lebson said. Russian state media said he was detained for allegedly kicking a police officer while intoxicated.
His father, Vladimir Gilman, disputed that account in an October 2024 Boston Globe opinion article, saying his son had become ill and accidentally kicked the officer. He wrote that the officer was not injured, withdrew the charges and did not present evidence at Gilman’s trial.
Gilman was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison and was one of at least 10 Americans known to be imprisoned in Russia.
U.S. officials said senior Russian official Yuri Ushakov informed Trump aides last week that Putin had agreed to sign a decree pardoning Gilman for humanitarian reasons, citing Putin’s friendship with Trump. The release followed intensive negotiations between U.S. and Russian officials over the weekend.
The United States did not exchange any Russian prisoners or make concessions to secure Gilman’s freedom, the officials said.
“It’s a goodwill gesture,” one U.S. official said.
Trump thanked U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler for helping secure the release.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Gilman was among 100 U.S. citizens whose freedom Trump had helped secure during his second term. Rubio welcomed the release as a “positive step” but called on Russia to free other Americans he said were unjustly detained, including Stephen Hubbard.
Hubbard, a retired schoolteacher, was sentenced in October 2024 to nearly seven years in a penal colony after a Russian court found him guilty of serving in a Ukrainian territorial defense unit against Russian forces and manning a checkpoint. Hubbard denied the charge.
(Source: Reuters)
