Exclusive: CIA deputy 'was desperate to get information' before her son died fighting for Russia

“She was absolutely shocked that he was in battle, let alone the horrific notification of his death," an official said.

Michael Gloss died in Ukraine while fighting for the Russians. He was the son of the CIA’s Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, Juliana Gallina. (Instagram)

Last year, Juliane Gallina, the Deputy Director of the CIA’s Digital Innovation Directorate, learned that her son had died in Ukraine fighting on behalf of the Russians. An independent Russian outlet called Important Stories broke the story this week, and sources started texting me with incredulity. Did the CIA know about the allegiances of Gallina’s son? Was this irony or a conflict of interest?

So I went to an official who is familiar with Gallina and spoke on the condition of anonymity. “‘Hey, Mom and Dad, I'm going to go into Russia, I'm gonna join the military, and I want to fight against Ukraine,’ there was no indication of that,” the person said.

Maybe a mother and son standing on opposite sides of the war was just the surface of a deeper tragedy. Because the official described a parent separated from her child by time, distance, and depression.

Michael Gloss, who died at 21, had been running with “nomads,” traveling throughout Europe with people he had met on social media, the person said. “Think of the ‘60s youth movement, ‘We need peace, we need to make the world a better place.’” (They are called the “Rainbow Family.”) Gloss was interested in clean water projects. And it all appeared very spontaneous or disorganized, depending on how you looked at it.

His path to joining the Russian army, or even ending up at a training center for Russian forces, remains unclear. “I don't think [he] had an idea of how Russia looks at foreign recruits,” the official said.

Gloss apparently told a friend that he wanted to travel to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014. “I’ve seen enough history to know that in nation state conflicts, the bigger, more imperial nation is the one that brings peace through military victory,” he reportedly wrote in a text message. But some of his peers believed that he naively enlisted to get a Russian passport, not to fight.

The official told me that it was extremely unlikely that any of the people Gloss was interacting with were trying to exploit him because of his mother’s position.

Meanwhile, Gallina was filled with worry. “She was desperate to get information. She didn't know what was going on,” the person said. “The agency did not either — the agency wasn’t tracking it. The agency didn't even have any information for her.”

It was a private matter but her pain could not be hidden. “There were days where you could just see her, best I could put it is, just staring at the wall. It was tough to do your job while you’re wondering where your son is.”

Gallina began her intelligence career as a U.S. Navy cryptologic officer, according to a CIA biography. She was later assigned to the National Reconnaissance Office, an agency that takes reconnaissance satellites from design into orbit. Back at the CIA, she moved up from being the Digital Innovation’s Associate Deputy Director to its Deputy Director. “We are in the right place at the right time for positive mission impact,” she said after her promotion in February 2024.

Just two months later, her son would die in Ukraine. The news — any parent’s worst nightmare — took her by surprise. “She was absolutely shocked that he was in battle, let alone the horrific notification of his death.”

The family was able to repatriate his remains. Then came the funeral. An obituary of Gloss preserved his memory from a time before he set foot in Moscow.

“Michael should be remembered for his noble heart, and warrior spirit,” the family wrote. “He knew the names of trees and plants, loved sleeping under stars… Michael grew to be physically strong and tall, thoughtful and principled, and from an early age he used these strengths to protect and guard against injustice of all forms — whether it was on the playground, on the field or in politics.”

The obituary also offered some bittersweet advice. “For Michael’s sake, keep your sense of humor. And if you love someone — let them know.”

Gallina took a little time off to mourn her son with her husband and other children. Then it was back to work. And on the CIA’s seventh floor, where the leadership sits, staff knew of the situation before the story broke.

A spokesperson told me in a written statement, “Juliane 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 spokesperson said the agency is heartbroken for Gallina and considers her son’s death a “private family matter for the Gloss family — not a national security issue.” Gallina and her husband were also quoted in the statement, saying, “We adored our son and grieve his loss every moment. We appreciate privacy at this difficult time.”

The unnamed official agreed that inside the agency, personnel have compassion for Gallina. Some have their own children who have drug problems and mental health struggles. They live at the mercy of however often their children choose to make contact. Gloss’ ties to Russia are not seen as a reflection on Gallina’s loyalties.

She is “very dedicated to us being able to advance how we use technology, how we go after technology, how we defend against adversarial technology,” the official said. “I always feel a bit humbled being around her as smart as she is.”

Gloss posted this image in 2020, writing, “So many selfies, such little knowledge of self.” (Instagram)

I wondered if the Kremlin would spin the narrative to suit Vladimir Putin’s fancy. The Russian government has not publicly acknowledged Gloss’ death or issued a comment. “Fortunately, it doesn't look like Putin is trying to make something out of this that it’s not,” the official said.

But there is no stopping the way the story twists and turns on social media. “We get that all the time anyway,” the person said with a cynical laugh. “It’s nothing new to us. There's always speculation, conspiracies.” One of them is that Gloss was actually a CIA asset, embedded in the Russian military.

On Saturday afternoon, I clicked through his Instagram account, which has not currently been taken down or made private. You wouldn’t have any idea that he was now gone. At one point, he appeared to acknowledge the superficiality of social media and his own identity quest, writing, “So many selfies, such little knowledge of self.”

His account reveals its own, self-reported character arc: Posted photos of football and travel morphing to video of an American flag burning and a graphic equating NATO with Nazis. None of us, not even a parent inside the country’s most prominent intelligence agency, can ever fully know what happens in the spaces in between.