WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Robert Gilman, an American military veteran who spent more than four years in Russian custody, returned to the United States Tuesday after Russia released him on humanitarian grounds. 

President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release Gilman without seeking anything in return. Trump said the United States and Russia did not conduct a prisoner exchange.

Gilman will receive medical and psychological care after his return. His case has drawn attention from U.S. officials, lawmakers, and advocacy groups as concerns over his health grew.

Trump said Gilman would arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday night. Representatives of the president planned to welcome him home.

The president also said Gilman had requested a cheeseburger after his release. Trump said he would take care of it.

Gilman’s family also reunited with him. His mother, Nancy, traveled with him back to the United States. She had gone to Russia while trying to visit her son in a hospital.

Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, said Gilman will receive further care at a U.S. military hospital in Texas. Global Reach has worked to secure the release of American detainees held overseas.

Lebson said Tuesday that doctors need more time to understand Gilman’s long-term medical condition. He added that Gilman’s family wants privacy as they help him recover.

Gilman, 32, comes from Lowell, Massachusetts. Russian authorities detained him in 2022 after police removed him from a train over a disturbance.

A Russian court initially sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in prison after finding him guilty of assaulting a police officer. Later, prosecutors brought additional assault allegations against him.

Authorities accused Gilman of attacking a prison inspector, an investigator, and a prison guard. A court sentenced him to eight years and one month in October 2024. Officials later extended his sentence to 10 years after another conviction involving prison guards.

However, his health worsened during his time in custody. Before his release, Gilman spent 47 days in what Lebson described as a “dissociative stupor.”

Russian authorities had moved him from a prison to a civilian hospital. There, medical staff placed him on a feeding tube and kept him handcuffed to a bed, according to Lebson.

Lebson also accused Russian authorities of mistreating Gilman. He said Gilman faced harassment, forced exercise sessions that lasted as long as 16 hours, and the use of psychotropic drugs. He also alleged that officials pressured Gilman to fight in Ukraine.

The claims have raised further concerns about the treatment of American detainees in Russia. The U.S. government had repeatedly urged Moscow to release Gilman because of his medical condition.

A State Department spokesperson said last week that the Trump administration had raised Gilman’s case with Russian officials several times. The administration also requested his release on humanitarian grounds.

At least eight other Americans remained in Russian custody after those exchanges, according to officials.