Moscow Releases US Marine Without Prisoner Exchange
Robert Gilman, a former Marine sentenced to 10 years, was freed after four years once Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone. Russia asked for no prisoner in return.
Russia freed American Marine Robert Gilman on Tuesday and allowed him to return to the United States after four years behind bars, and no prisoner was handed over in return. For Belgrade, which manages its relations with Washington and Moscow in parallel, the mechanism itself is worth noting: the case was resolved through a direct conversation between the two presidents, outside the negotiating table on Ukraine and outside the usual arithmetic of prisoner swaps.
Gilman is 32 years old, a teacher from Massachusetts and a former member of the Marine Corps. US President Donald Trump said he discussed Gilman’s release with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the decision was made on humanitarian grounds.
“We appreciate this decision and the fact that Russia asked for no one in return. There was no swap,” Trump said.
Four Years, Three Sentences
Gilman was arrested in 2022, after being pulled off a train in Russia, and was charged with beating a police officer. His original sentence was three and a half years in prison.
The sentence was then extended twice, both times over charges that originated inside the prison system itself:
- in October 2024 he was given eight years and one month, over an assault on a prison inspector, an investigator and a guard
- in December 2024 the sentence was raised to 10 years, after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards
Russian media reported that he pleaded guilty and apologized to the guards he was accused of attacking. The business daily Kommersant wrote that he explained his actions as an attempt to stay in the prison where he was already serving his sentence and avoid a transfer to another facility. His father disputed the charges, and the State Department took the position that his detention was wrongful.
What Happened Before the Release?
Since the start of July, Gilman had been held in a psychiatric ward. According to Global Reach, an organization that works to free American citizens held in Russian prisons, he spent 47 days in a dissociative stupor, was on a feeding tube and was handcuffed to a bed.
His condition was described as severe and life threatening, and it was reports about his health that prompted the US administration to act. Russian officials did not immediately comment on the release.
Gilman landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, near Washington, on Tuesday evening, and from there he was transferred to a military hospital in Texas, where he is expected to undergo medical and psychiatric evaluation and treatment.
Reactions From Washington
Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a photo of Gilman wrapped in an American flag, on the plane, surrounded by his family, while also noting that the case does not close the broader issue.
“While we welcome this positive step, we continue to demand the immediate return of all other Americans who are wrongfully detained,” Rubio said.
Trump also described his phone call with Gilman: “I just spoke with him, and he had only one request: a great cheeseburger when he lands.”
His sister, Lexi Hudson, thanked the president and Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, who had championed the case in Congress.
“There is no other reason Robert is alive today except that President Trump heard about the case and took action,” Hudson said.
Markey placed responsibility for Gilman’s health on Russian authorities and said his return should have come much sooner.
Five Americans Remain in Russian Prisons
Global Reach says five more American citizens remain in Russian prisons, and their health is deteriorating. Arrests of Americans in Russia have grown more frequent in recent years, alongside a mounting fear that US citizens are being detained so they can later serve as leverage in negotiations over the return of Russians convicted in the United States and Europe.
Gilman’s case broke from that pattern in one respect: the channel was presidential, and the price was not another prisoner. What happens next depends on the findings of the doctors in Texas, and on whether the same channel will be used for the five Americans still held.
