Russia frees ailing ex-US Marine Robert Gilman after Putin approves humanitarian pardon

Release and pardon

Russia freed former US Marine Robert Gilman on August 11 after President Vladimir Putin approved a pardon on humanitarian grounds. Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin's special envoy for talks with the United States, announced the release on X, saying Gilman was on a US plane carrying him from Russia to Washington. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that after his discussions with Putin, Russia agreed to the release "very much on a Humanitarian Basis." Trump stressed that no prisoner exchange took place and that Moscow asked for no one in return. The State Department confirmed no concessions were made.

Detention and charges

Gilman, 32 and from Massachusetts, was arrested in January 2022 in Voronezh, about 340 miles south of Moscow, while traveling by train. Russian state media said he was detained for allegedly kicking a police officer while drunk. He was initially sentenced to 4.5 years in a penal colony. According to El Confidencial and NOS, additional charges for alleged assaults on prison staff later extended his sentence to 10 years. Spiegel reported the sentence was at one point reduced by one year before being extended again over further allegations.

Gilman's father, Vladimir Gilman, who emigrated from Russia to Massachusetts, wrote in an October 2024 Boston Globe op-ed that the charges were false. He said his son had fallen ill during the train incident and accidentally kicked the officer, who was uninjured, dropped the charges, and did not present evidence at trial. The family wrote on their website that Gilman was vomiting and falling, most likely due to a concussion, when police hit him with a baton.

Health crisis

Gilman's health deteriorated severely during detention. Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, the advocacy group representing the family, told Reuters that Gilman was moved in late June from the prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital in a catatonic-like state assessed as a "dissociative stupor." Global Reach told CBS that Gilman was gravely ill and at risk of death due to mistreatment during captivity, including forced labor, and said he was pressured to fight in Ukraine.

His sister, Lexie Hudson, said in a statement last week that she feared he could die in custody. A US official who spoke to Gilman after his release said he was walking and talking and seemed to be in good shape, though NOS, citing CNN, reported he could talk but could not walk. He was to be evaluated by four doctors on the flight. His mother was on board; Reuters named her as Nina, while the Washington Post referred to her as Nancy.

Officials involved and next steps

Multiple US officials worked to secure the release, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff, deputy national security adviser Sebastian Gorka, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler. Upon arrival, Gilman was likely to be flown to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, for medical treatment. El Confidencial reported he would be treated at a military hospital in Texas.

The State Department said more than 100 Americans considered wrongfully detained abroad have been freed during the Trump administration. Rubio said the US continues to seek the return of Stephen Hubbard, 73, a retired English teacher captured by Russian forces in April 2022 in the Ukrainian town of Izyum, accused of fighting for Ukraine, and sentenced to six years and 10 months.