CIA confirms deputy director’s son killed while fighting in Ukraine

The son of a deputy head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was killed "while fighting in the conflict in Ukraine" in 2024, a CIA spokesperson said on April 25, according to NBC News.

Michael Gloss, 21, was the son of CIA Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Julianne Gallina Gloss and Iraq war veteran Larry Gloss. Independent Russian publication Important Stories first reported his death while fighting on Russia's side in an investigation published on April 25.

As NBC News reported, the CIA spokesperson said Gallina and her family "suffered an unimaginable personal tragedy in the spring of 2024 when her son Michael Gloss, who struggled with mental health issues, died while fighting in the conflict in Ukraine."

The statement did not specify which side Gloss was fighting for at the time.

"CIA considers Michael’s passing to be a private family matter for the Gloss family — not a national security issue," the spokesperson said.

"Juliane and her husband shared that 'we adored our son and grieve his loss every moment. We appreciate privacy at this difficult time,'" the spokesperson added.

According to an obituary written by his parents last year but since removed from the memorial home's page, Gloss died "while traveling in Eastern Europe," without mentioning the war in Ukraine or his travels to Russia.

Despite supporting Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale war, Gloss was recruited at a military recruitment center in Moscow, alongside other foreign nationals, by Sept. 5, 2023, the investigation by Important Stories found.

Moscow has been enlisting migrants and foreign nationals since the start of its full-scale invasion to replenish its battlefield losses without a full-scale mobilization.

Citizens from China, Nepal, Somalia, India, Cuba, and other nations were recruited, according to earlier reporting.