President Vladimir Putin has posthumously awarded a Soviet-era state honor to the son of CIA Deputy Director Julianne Gallina, delivering it to her via U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, CBS News reported Friday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Gallina’s son, 21-year-old Michael Alexander Gloss, was killed in April 2024 while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. Russian media reported that he served in an assault unit in eastern Ukraine and died during an offensive in the Donetsk region.
Putin reportedly presented the Order of Lenin, a Soviet-era state award usually given for outstanding civilian or military service, to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff during his visit to Moscow last week for Ukraine peace talks.
CBS News said the award was “likely meant to raise unhelpful questions” about the CIA official’s son fighting for Russia.
There is no indication that Gloss was deliberately recruited by Moscow or that the Kremlin knew about his family background when his remains were repatriated to the United States, the outlet noted.
In April, his father, U.S. Navy veteran Larry Gloss, told The Washington Post that the family feared the Kremlin would learn about his mother’s position in the U.S. government and “use him as a prop.”
The Kremlin and Russia’s Foreign Ministry have not publicly acknowledged the award, and neither the White House, the CIA nor Witkoff has commented. A Russian Embassy spokesman in Washington told CBS there was “no official comment.”
Gallina has served as the CIA’s deputy director for digital innovation since February 2024.
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