U.S. Marine detained in Russia faces life-threatening condition, family and advocates warn

Robert Gilman, who served in the U.S. Marines from 2019 to 2020, has been imprisoned in Russia since his January 2022 arrest in Voronezh. Recent reports from his sister Lexie Hudson and two hostage-advocacy groups indicate that he slipped into a dissociative stupor in June and now requires tube feeding, with his eyes closed and no ability to speak. The White House and State Department have repeatedly urged Moscow to allow his transfer to the United States for emergency treatment, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is said to have discussed the matter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a July meeting in Manila.

Russian officials have not commented, and the Russian embassy declined interview requests. Gilman's mother has been barred from visiting him despite a judicial order, and U.S. consular staff have only occasional access to his prison cell, not the hospital. His case adds further strain to already tense U.S.-Russia relations amid ongoing conflicts in Iran and Ukraine.