Russia Releases Former US Marine Robert Gilman After More Than Four Years in Detention

August 12, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Robert Gilman, a former US Marine held in Russia for more than four years, has been released and is returning to the United States after President Donald Trump intervened with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gilman, 32, was released on Tuesday on humanitarian grounds and flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. He is expected to receive medical and psychological treatment at a rehabilitation centre in San Antonio, Texas.

Gilman was arrested in Russia in January 2022 after authorities accused him of assaulting a police officer. He was initially sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. His sentence was later extended through additional convictions involving alleged assaults on prison officials, eventually reaching 10 years. His family and US advocates disputed the charges and accused Russian authorities of mistreatment.

His health deteriorated sharply during his imprisonment. In recent months, family members and advocates said he had entered a dissociative or catatonic-like state and was being fed through a tube. He was transferred to a Russian hospital as his condition worsened. Reuters reported that his family and advocates had raised concerns that he was close to death.

The release followed discussions between Trump and Putin and did not involve a prisoner exchange, according to the US account. Trump described the decision as being made on a humanitarian basis.

The US State Department said Gilman joins more than 100 Americans whom the Trump administration says have been freed during the president’s second term. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed his release but said Washington was still seeking the return of other Americans it considers unjustly detained, including Stephen Hubbard.

The case comes against a backdrop of repeated US-Russia negotiations over Americans detained in Russia. Gilman’s release marks another diplomatic outcome between Washington and Moscow, but the absence of a prisoner exchange distinguishes it from several previous US-Russia detainee deals.

Source: FSX Business News