Michael Alexander Gloss, the alleged 21-year-old son of CIA Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Juliane Gallina, was killed while fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine in April 2024, according to an investigation by the independent outlet iStories, based on a leaked database from a Moscow military recruitment center.
Gloss reportedly died on April 4, 2024, during an offensive near Soledar in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. iStories reported that he was killed in battle by Ukrainian forces. His obituary, published by a funeral home in Fairfax, Virginia, described his death as occurring in “Eastern Europe” but made no mention of military service.
Michael Gloss, an American citizen and the son of CIA Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Juliane Gallina Gloss, was killed in Ukraine while fighting on Russia’s side. https://t.co/ECOivzGilW pic.twitter.com/OTxLvOP5a4
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) April 25, 2025
Russian authorities allegedly notified his family in October 2024, and he was buried in the United States on December 21, 2024.
Juliane Gallina was appointed Deputy Director for Digital Innovation at the CIA in February 2024, two months before her son’s death. Gloss’s father, Larry Gloss, is a U.S. Navy veteran and cybersecurity specialist who worked with structures serving the Pentagon and NATO.
Juliane Gallina, CIA deputy director for digital innovation, said that she has encouraged the typically tight-lipped agency to be more open and transparent so that industry better understands what it needs.
Catch up here: https://t.co/KfCElntS3c
__#POCDT2025 #Event pic.twitter.com/KWFPTwBfx9— GovCon_Wire (@GovConWire) April 25, 2025
Gloss, an American citizen, reportedly left the United States in late 2022 or early 2023 after dropping out of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. He had participated in climate activism, feminist, and anti-U.S. foreign policy protests, including a 2022 demonstration in Washington, D.C.
According to iStories, Gloss traveled through Italy, Israel, and Turkey, taking part in humanitarian efforts before obtaining a Russian visa in August 2023. He entered Russia from Georgia on August 12, 2023.
Gloss’s information reportedly appeared in Russia’s EMIAS military recruitment database on September 5, 2023, listing a Moscow enlistment center as his residence. He subsequently signed a contract with the Russian military.
It is reported that the son of CIA deputy director Julianne Gallina Gloss, 21-year-old Michael Gloss died in Ukraine as a Russian soldier. He signed a contract with Russia’s MoD. His father, Iraq vet Larry Gloss, develops secure software for U.S. and NATO forces pic.twitter.com/HmMyAnym5N
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) April 25, 2025
Gloss underwent two weeks of basic training alongside a group that included Nepalese volunteers. He appeared in a video from the training center and later in a TikTok video showing foreign mercenaries being transported to Ryazan. He also allegedly created social media accounts under the alias “Hamza Ali,” joining groups supporting the Soviet Union, Islam, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
Brave Young Man Who Gave his life for Russia !!
The son of CIA Deputy Director Michael Gloss, who fought in the Russian Airborne Forces, died at the front
His mother, Julian Gallina Gloss, graduated from the US Naval Academy, worked in intelligence for more than 30… pic.twitter.com/NpM0S4D5nH
— 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐙
Gloss was assigned to the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment (Unit No. 41450) based in Ryazan. He deployed to eastern Ukraine in December 2023 and was last active on his social media accounts in March 2024.
iStories reported that Gloss’s family received official notification of his death in April 2024. Neither Juliane Gallina nor Larry Gloss have publicly commented. His name appeared among over 1,500 foreign nationals listed in the leaked Moscow recruitment database since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Gloss’s case underscores the complex personal motivations behind foreign involvement in the ongoing conflict.
