The radicalized son of a CIA director was killed last year while allegedly fighting for Russia in Ukraine, according to a new investigation.
Michael Alexander Gloss, the 21-year-old son of the CIA’s Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Julianne Gallina Gloss and a Navy veteran father, was killed on the front lines after enlisting in the Russian Army, according to a lengthy investigation by independent Russian outlet Important Stories.
Gloss’ obituary said his “fiercely beautiful life … was taken from us during his travels overseas” on April 4, 2024, without detailing exactly how.
“With his noble heart and warrior spirit Michael was forging his own hero’s journey when he was tragically killed in Eastern Europe,” the obit said.
Before leaving on his travels, Gloss shared images of him giving the finger to the White House — and also video of a burning flag.
Border service data showed that he crossed into Russia via Georgia in Aug. 2023, sending photos of his adventures to a group chat of friends in the “Rainbow Family,” a loose-knit, counter-culture “hippie” group, according to Important Stories.
That September, Gloss appeared in Russia’s Unified Medical Information and Analytical System of Moscow (EMIAS), where his address was listed as a medical examination room at an Army contract recruitment point on Yablochkova Street — the same address given to foreign mercenaries who arrive in Moscow to join Russian forces in the Ukrainian conflict, according to the report.
A selfie snapped by a Nepalese volunteer at the Avangard training center in Moscow appears to show Gloss in military fatigues and a red keffiyeh. A video posted by another Nepalese man shows Michael shaved bald at the facility, posing with fellow soldiers.
Michael’s training group, which consisted mainly of Nepalese nationals, was eventually bused to their military unit — the 137th Ryazan Airborne Regiment. Video from the bus ride appears to show Gloss riding in his keffiyeh.
After arriving at the training unit, Gloss made an account on the Russian social media website Odnoklassniki, where his profile photo shows him lying down in the red keffiyeh in a bunk bed that looks identical to those seen in videos posted by his Nepalese comrades, according to the investigation.
A fellow soldier in the 137th Ryazan Airborne Regiment who knew Michael well said the American had “his own vision of how he could be useful at the front.”
“He studied construction and engineering in college, so all his thoughts were connected with inventions and innovations,” the soldier, who went by Peter, told Important Stories.
Gloss confirmed to his Rainbow Family friends that he was in Russia on Dec. 19 but made no mention of his military activity after not speaking in the group chat for two months, the report said.
That same month, Peter said Gloss was “sent to the assault units.” Parts of the 137th Regiment were deployed northwest of Soledar in the Donetsk region at that time, according to Important Stories.
Gloss last logged into Telegram on March 14, 2024, two weeks before the 137th Airborne Regiment began an offensive on Ukrainian positions.
While the exact circumstances of Michael’s death are unknown, it was on the same day as the 106th Division, which includes Gloss’ regiment, posted on Telegram that its paratroopers were continuing their offensive push in Donetsk in the face of poor conditions and “unfavorable positions.”
Julianne Gallina Gloss was appointed as the CIA’s deputy director for digital innovation in Feb. 2024 — just weeks before her son’s death. She did not respond to messages Friday.
She graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1992 and became the first female commander of the academy’s cadet corps. She spent the next 30 years working in intelligence and technology both with the military and as a civil servant.
Her husband and Michael’s father, Larry Gloss, served 15 years in the Navy and was awarded an Air Combat Medal for his actions in Operation Desert Storm in early 1990s. He’s spent his career in cybersecurity.
Michael Gloss’ funeral wasn’t until December 21, 2024. A Rainbow Family text sent by a man who had talked to Gloss’s sister said that his family was not made aware of his death until two months earlier.
“They were told that he died in Ukraine. We do not know if he participated in the war. They did not provide details,” the friend wrote.
The CIA did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Reached by phone, Michael’s father said he was not yet in a position to discuss it.
