Russia has released a US military veteran who spent more than four years in prison under what his supporters described as abusive conditions, after concerns were raised that he was seriously ill and at risk of dying. US President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release Robert Gilman on a “humanitarian basis”, adding that Russia had asked for nothing in return.

“No exchange took place,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said he had spoken to Gilman and that the 32-year-old would arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday night, where representatives of the president would welcome him.

“I just spoke to him, and he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands. I will take care of that!” Trump said.

Gilman is expected to undergo medical and psychological assessment and treatment at a US military hospital in Texas, according to Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, an organisation that has worked to secure the release of American detainees abroad.

Trump said Gilman had also been reunited with his mother, Nancy, who is travelling back to the US with him. His mother had been in Russia attempting to visit him in hospital, Global Reach said.

“I am so grateful to President Trump for saving my brother’s life. There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action,” Gilman’s sister, Lexie Hudson, said.

Gilman, a teacher from Lowell, Massachusetts, had been detained in Russia since 2022. He was initially sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of beating a police officer following his removal from a train for causing a disturbance.

He was later convicted of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, beating an investigator and assaulting a guard. In October 2024, he was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison. His sentence was extended to 10 years last year after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards.

Before his release, Gilman had spent 47 days in what Lebson described as “a dissociative stupor” because of the abuse he had suffered in prison.

He had been transferred from a prison to a civilian hospital, where he was connected to a feeding tube and handcuffed to a bed.

Lebson told CBS News last week that Russian authorities had subjected Gilman to mistreatment, including harassment, forced exercise sessions lasting up to 16 hours and the administration of psychotropic drugs. He also alleged that Gilman had been pressured to fight in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Lebson said it was “too early to know Robert’s long-term medical prognosis” and that his family “has asked for space while they reunite with Robert and work to support his recovery.”

Senator Edward Markey had previously called on Russia and the US to work together to secure Gilman’s release. Gilman was among at least eight Americans who remained in Russian custody following a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges between Moscow and Washington in recent years.

The US State Department said last week that, because of Gilman’s health concerns, the Trump administration “has raised his case repeatedly with the Russian government and has requested his release on humanitarian grounds.”

The department said it was “deeply concerned about Robert Gilman’s health and continued detention in Russia.”