Trump admin secures Robert Gilman’s release from Russia without prisoner swap
Wrongful detentions of American citizens overseas decline as President Donald Trump secures the release of a Marine veteran from a Russian prison. Former hostage negotiator Dan O’Shea analyzes the negotiation breakthrough, emphasizing that the release was achieved without a prisoner swap. This event highlights shifts in U.S. hostage diplomacy.
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Photos and video emerged Wednesday showing Marine veteran Robert Gilman back on American soil following his release from Russian custody.
Gilman, a U.S. citizen who was arrested on Jan. 17, 2022, in Voronezh, Russia, and sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison, was freed on humanitarian grounds Tuesday after 1,666 days in prison. President Donald Trump said Gilman would land at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night, and after speaking with him, “he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands.”
“Our Marine is safely back on American soil,” Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to the president, wrote on X early Wednesday, sharing a video of an aircraft coming to a stop. “As President Donald Trump promised, Steve Witkoff brought Robert Gilman cheeseburgers and milkshakes!”
US MARINE VETERAN RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN PRISON AFTER 1,666 DAYS OF DETENTION
U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, center, and Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka, right, greeted Robert Gilman, left, upon his arrival to the U.S. following his release from Russia. (SEPeaceMissions/X.com)
“(I snuck him a cigar for when he’s fully recovered!),” Gorka added. “And a member of our broader White House team brought him his own USMC flag. There are very few jobs like this one. No American left behind.”
In his own post, Witkoff, who is the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, said it was a “special night welcoming an American citizen home to his family and country.”
“Thank you POTUS for never leaving anyone behind,” Witkoff also said, sharing an image of him and Gorka alongside Gilman on the plane following the landing.
“Robert is a patriot — a former United States Marine who served our country with honor. He can now finally return to his family and receive the medical care he needs,” Witkoff said in a separate post. “His return is another testament to POTUS’s extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment to bringing Americans home. Under his leadership, Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina were also brought home from Russia.”
AMERICAN EX-MARINE FEARED NEAR DEATH AFTER WEEKS IN CATATONIC STATE IN RUSSIAN PRISON
Steve Witkoff and Sebastian Gorka are seen awaiting the arrival of Robert Gilman as he returned to U.S. soil following his release on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, from Russia. (SebGorka/X.com)
Gilman was convicted in 2022 of assaulting a police officer, initially receiving a sentence of three and a half years. Gilman’s troubles in custody then increased in 2024 when he was found guilty by Russia of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, assaulting an investigator and beating another guard.
In December 2025, Russia once again extended Gilman’s prison sentence after a regional court found him guilty of a new assault on prison staff.
However, the U.S. State Department referred to Gilman as a wrongful detainee.
Gilman is the third U.S. Marine to be taken prisoner in Russia in the last decade, following Russia’s detention of Paul Whelan in 2018 and Trevor Reed in 2019. Both were later released in prisoner swaps.
“After my discussions with President Vladimir Putin, 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,” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
Gorka says he brought Gilman a cigar to enjoy when he is “fully recovered.” (SebGorka/X.com)
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“Robert Gilman has been reunited with his wonderful mother, Nancy, who is also on the plane with him, and will soon get to see all of his loved ones,” Trump added.
’ Emma Bussey Robert McGreevy, Gillian Turner, Nick Kalman and Louis Casiano contributed to this post.
