Senate Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to escalate efforts to rescue Americans detained in Russia, after Moscow on Tuesday released U.S. citizen Robert Gilman after four and a half years in detention.
In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, Democratic senators raised concerns that the Trump administration is not utilizing the full tools provided by Congress to secure the release of at least six other Americans in Russian captivity. Only one is categorized as “wrongfully detained,” the senators note, an important label that unlocks additional government resources to advocate for their release.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), joined by 15 colleagues, said in the letter to Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, that authorities implemented by Congress in the Levinson Act “would maximize U.S. government coordination and advance negotiations to ensure their swift release, as well as provide needed resources to the families as they advocate for their loved ones.”
The lawmakers called on the Trump administration to engage in direct negotiations with Russia over releasing the Americans, on a separate track from stalled U.S. efforts to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine.
“We are deeply concerned that tying the fate of these Americans and their families to broader issues in the U.S.-Russia relationship and deferring their designation as wrongful detainees merely prolongs their hardship,” the lawmakers wrote.
The six Americans detained in Russia include Stephen Hubbard, 74, who has been detained since April 2, 2022, and was designated as a “wrongful detainee” in January 2025. The five other detained Americans are classified as “cases of concern.” These include Andre Khachatoorian, detained for more than 1,688 days; David Barnes, detained for 1,671 days; Olga Jezler, detained for 1,506 days; Alexsandr Antonov, detained for 524 days; and Chuck Zimmerman, detained for 420 days.
President Trump on Tuesday posted on his social media site Truth Social that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release Gilman on humanitarian grounds and noted that the U.S. did not exchange a prisoner to Russia.
The Foley Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the release of American hostages and wrongful detainees held abroad, has said that instances of U.S. citizens taken hostage or wrongfully detained increased by 163 percent between 2015 and 2025.
The organization reported that 2025 was a “strong year for the release of Americans unjustly held overseas,” but it said even as Americans were coming home from countries such as Afghanistan and Venezuela, more Americans continue to be taken in those same countries.
The Foley Foundation said that while two wrongfully detained Americans were released from Russia in 2025, at least six Americans remained unjustly detained, with one new case emerging that year.
The Foley Foundation reports that there are 40 publicly disclosed hostage and wrongful detention cases.
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