Desk Report,
Putin presents award to Trump’s envoy
Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented an award to US President Donald Trump’s special envoy. The award has been asked to be delivered to a senior CIA officer. The officer’s son was killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine. He was awarded the award posthumously.
Putin presents award to Trump’s envoy
CBS, the US affiliate of the BBC, reported this information, citing sources.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff recently visited Moscow to discuss plans to end the war in Ukraine. Putin presented him with the ‘Order of Lenin’ award at that time. Neither the Kremlin nor the Russian Foreign Ministry have spoken publicly about the posthumous award of the Soviet-era ‘Order of Lenin’ to Gloss. The award is usually given for outstanding civilian work.
21-year-old Michael Gloss was killed in Ukraine last year. He is the son of Julian Galina, the CIA’s deputy director for digital innovation.
The award comes ahead of a meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska on Friday. The two leaders are expected to discuss the future of the Ukraine war.
Neither the Kremlin nor the Russian Foreign Ministry have publicly commented on the awarding of the Soviet-era Order of Lenin to Gloss, which is usually given for outstanding civilian service.
It is not known what the award was for. No one from the White House, the CIA or Witkoff has commented on the matter.
Russian media first reported Gloss’s death in April. The CIA said in a statement later that month that Gloss had suffered from mental health problems and that his death was not related to national security.
A person familiar with the matter told CBS that Gloss was never a CIA employee.
The sources also told CBS that Gloss joined the Russian military in the fall of 2023. The Kremlin was probably unaware of his family’s identity at the time.
Last year, Gloss shared a selfie on social media of himself in Moscow’s Red Square. In his post, he expressed support for Russia and called the war in Ukraine a “Ukrainian proxy war.” He called media coverage of the conflict “Western propaganda.”
Last year, Gloss shared a selfie on social media of himself in Moscow’s Red Square. In his post, he expressed support for Russia and called the war in Ukraine a “Ukrainian proxy war.” He called media coverage of the conflict “Western propaganda.”
An obituary published in November 2024 said that Gloss had been “killed in Eastern Europe on April 4 of that year.”
In a statement about Gloss’s death four months ago, the CIA said that his mother Galina and family were going through “an unimaginable personal tragedy.”
Gloss’s father, Larry Gloss, fought in the Iraq War. In an interview with the Washington Post in April, he said that their son had struggled with mental illness for most of his life.
“Our biggest fear when we were waiting for him to be brought back was that someone would find out who his mother was and use her as a propaganda tool,” said Larry Gloss.
