Putin gives Trump's envoy Witkoff an award meant for CIA official whose son died fighting for Russia
The award, the Order of Lenin, was meant to be handed to Juliane Gallina, whose 21-year-old son, Michael Gloss, was killed in 2024.Gallina is currently serving at the CIA as deputy director for digital innovation.
Multiple sources told CBS News that Putin gave Witkoff the award during his trip to Russia this week, which a Russian official said the U.S. initiated, to discuss ending the Ukraine war.
The gesture by Putin is likely meant to raise unhelpful questions and highlight that a CIA official's son fought for Russia in the war.
It also comes ahead of a meeting next week between Putin and Trump in efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.
In a statement in April, CIA officials said the death of Gallina's son, who struggled with mental health challenges, was not a national security issue. Two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News there was no indication that Gloss had been recruited by the Russian government, and that the Kremlin did not appear to be aware of Gloss's family background when it repatriated his remains.
The Order of Lenin is a Soviet-era award meant to highlight outstanding civilian service. It has been given to high-level spies, including the U.K.'s Kim Philby, a double agent for the Soviet Union. Gallina's son was never an employee of the CIA, according to a person familiar with the matter.
On social media, Gloss published posts of himself in Moscow and voiced his support for Russian troops. Russian media first published news of Gloss' death in April. The CIA's statement at the time said Gallina and her family had suffered "an unimaginable personal tragedy.
"An obituary for Gloss said he was "tragically killed in Eastern Europe" on April 4, 2024.Gloss's father, Larry Gloss, an Iraq War veteran, told the Washington Post in an interview that he and Gallina did not know their son was in Ukraine or that he had enlisted in the Russian army.
"Our biggest fear while we were waiting for him to be repatriated was that someone over there [in Moscow] would put two and two together and figure out who his mother was, and use him as a prop," Larry Gloss said.
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