Russia frees ailing ex-US Marine Robert Gilman from detention
Moscow on Tuesday freed former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, 32, who had been jailed in Russia since 2022, after President Vladimir Putin approved a humanitarian pardon for the ailing American. U.S. officials said the White House and State Department had urged his release so he could receive treatment in the United States.
Gilman was held in Voronezh, about 340 miles south of Moscow. He was reportedly moved in late June from a prison hospital to a civilian hospital’s psychiatric ward in a catatonic-like state diagnosed as a “dissociative stupor.” On Tuesday, he was flown to Washington Dulles Airport on a State Department plane. An official who spoke with him said he was walking and talking and “seems to be in good shape.” Four doctors will evaluate him during the flight, and his mother, Nina, was aboard.
At Dulles, Gilman is expected to be greeted by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, deputy national security adviser Sebastian Gorka and other officials who pushed for his release, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner and hostage response envoy Adam Boehler. He will likely then be flown to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio for treatment.
“After my discussions with President Vladimir Putin, Russia has agreed to release him, very much on a Humanitarian Basis,” President Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “We appreciate this decision, and the fact that Russia asked for no one in return — No exchange took place. Robert will land at Andrews Air Force Base, in Washington, D.C., tonight, where my Representatives, some of whom are on the plane with him, will welcome Robert back to THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!”
Gilman, who served in the Marines from August 2019 to August 2020, was arrested in January 2022 after allegedly kicking a police officer while drunk. His father said the charges were false and that Gilman, who had fallen ill, accidentally kicked the uninjured officer, who dropped the charges. Gilman was sentenced to 4½ years and was among at least 10 Americans imprisoned in Russia.
U.S. officials said Russian senior official Yuri Ushakov told Trump aides last week that Putin would pardon Gilman for humanitarian reasons, citing Putin’s friendship with Trump. The release followed intense weekend negotiations, with no prisoner exchange or concessions. One official called it “a goodwill gesture.”
The State Department said Gilman was recently designated wrongfully detained and expressed hope Russia would also release Stephen Hubbard and other Americans “unjustly held” there. Hubbard, a retired teacher, was sentenced in October 2024 to nearly seven years after being convicted of serving in a Ukrainian territorial defense unit. He denies the charge.
