Trump intervenes with Putin for ex-Marine's release: 'He asked for no exchange'

Former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman has been released from detention in Russia, with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing that Russia agreed to his release without any exchange.

"We appreciate this decision, as well as the fact that Russia did not ask for anything in return, no exchange took place," Trump stated in a post on Truth Social. Moscow released the former U.S. Marine, who had been imprisoned since 2022, after Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a pardon on humanitarian grounds for the ailing American.

Gilman, 32, was held in a prison in Voronezh, approximately 550 kilometers south of Moscow. While the exact conditions of his health were not clear, Eric Lebson, director of strategy at Global Reach, a group representing Gilman's family, reported that Gilman was transferred from the prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital in late June. His condition was described as resembling catatonia, assessed as "dissociative stupor."

U.S. officials confirmed that Gilman boarded a State Department aircraft to be flown from Russia to Dulles Airport in Washington. One U.S. official who spoke with Gilman reported that he was walking and talking. He is expected to be examined during the flight by four doctors. Gilman's mother, Nina, was also on board the aircraft. Upon arrival at Dulles, Gilman is expected to be met by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Deputy National Security Advisor Sebastian Gorka, who, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler, and other officials, had been working towards his release.

Gilman, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from August 2019 to August 2020, was arrested in January 2022 in Voronezh while traveling by train. Russian state media reported his detention on charges of assaulting a police officer while intoxicated. His father, Vladimir Gilman, who had emigrated to Massachusetts from Russia, wrote an opinion piece in October detailing his son's situation.

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We appreciate this decision, as well as the fact that Russia did not ask for anything in return, no exchange took place.