Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented the Order of Lenin, a Soviet-era award, to Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, intended for a senior CIA official whose son died fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine.
The award was meant for Juliane Gallina, CIA deputy director for digital innovation, whose 21-year-old son, Michael Gloss, was killed in Ukraine in 2024.
Sources indicate Putin gave Witkoff the award during a Moscow visit to discuss ending the Ukraine conflict.
The gesture, described as a psychological tactic, aims to highlight the sensitive fact that a CIA official’s son fought for Russia.
The Order of Lenin, historically awarded for outstanding civilian service, was given at a delicate time as Trump has voiced frustration with the Kremlin and threatened secondary tariffs.
Reports confirm Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska on August 15 to discuss the Ukraine war’s future.
Neither the Kremlin, Russian Foreign Ministry, White House, CIA, nor Witkoff have commented publicly, and it remains unclear what was done with the award.
Michael Gloss, who struggled with mental health issues, was not a CIA employee, and sources suggest the Kremlin was unaware of his family ties when repatriating his remains.
Gloss had expressed pro-Russian sentiments on social media, calling the conflict a “Ukraine Proxy war.”
His father, Larry Gloss, an Iraq War veteran, told the Washington Post:
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.
The CIA described the loss as “an unimaginable personal tragedy” for Gallina’s family.