Putin frees ‘deathly ill’ US Marine after conversation with Trump

TelegraphAug 11, 2026Read original

Russia has released an American military veteran described as deathly ill by his family after speaking with

, the US president has claimed.

Robert Gilman, who spent more than four years in prison on disputed charges of punching a Russian police officer, will land in Washington on Tuesday after being released on “humanitarian grounds”.

Mr Trump claimed the 32-year-old, who travelled to Russia to teach English, “had one request – A GREAT cheeseburger” when he lands in the US. “I will take care of that!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Mr Gilman will then be transported to a military hospital in Texas, where he will be medically and psychologically assessed and treated, said a spokesman for the former prisoner.

Mr Gilman’s family has flown to Texas to be with him, including his mother, who before his release was in Russia attempting to see him at a hospital.

A representative for Mr Gilman said on Monday that in June “he was transferred from the prison to the hospital in what’s been described as a state of a dissociative stupor”.

He was being fed through a tube and was on the brink of death, the representative told PBS. “We are literally on an hour-by-hour basis hoping that Mr Gilman hangs on and that we can secure for him some kind of lifesaving medical evacuation out of Russia.”

Taking to Truth Social on Tuesday, Mr Trump said: “I am proud to announce that American Citizen Robert Gilman, a former United States Marine, is coming HOME! In a well known Media story, Robert was imprisoned in Russia in 2022, during the Biden Administration.

“After my discussions with

, Russia has agreed to release him, very much on a Humanitarian Basis. We appreciate this decision, and the fact that Russia asked for no one in return – No exchange took place.”

Mr Gilman’s sister, Lexie Hudson, credited Mr Trump and US Senator Ed Markey, of Massachusetts, with bringing about the former Marine’s release.

“There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action,” said Ms Hudson, who thanked Mr Markey “for leading our advocacy efforts in Congress”.

“The Russians treated my brother so badly,” Ms Hudson said. “They hurt him for no reason, other than that he was both an American and a Marine. What did they get out of this? Why did they do this to such a wonderful person?”

Hospital reports said Mr Gilman’s condition was “dire and life-threatening”, pushing the US government into action and leading to “a unilateral humanitarian release” by Russian officials, a spokesman said.

Mr Markey had called on Russia and the US to work together to get the Massachusetts resident released. Mr Gilman was among at least eight Americans who remained in Russian custody after a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges with the US in recent years.

Mr Markey said: “It is a tragedy that it took Robert’s near-death condition for his case to receive the attention that it required for his release to be negotiated.

“Throughout his detention, Robert was subjected to physical torture, forced medication, and provocations by Russian authorities. There is no doubt that his treatment by Russian authorities is the reason Robert is in this precarious state today.”