Russia renames school in occupied Ukraine after CIA official’s son who died fighting for Moscow

Source: Mediazona

Russian authorities have renamed a school in the occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region in honor of Michael Gloss, the son of a CIA deputy director who joined the Russian military and died while fighting in Ukraine last year, according to the Russian-appointed head of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic.”

Gloss traveled to Russia in 2023 and signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry soon after. According to an obituary published by his family, he was killed on April 4, 2024.

“All the way from America, Michael Alexander Gloss was able to understand what’s happening here. He took a stand and made the choice to fight against Nazism and neo-Nazism,” Pushilin said during a ceremony at the school. “And our task is to preserve this memory and pass on these values to future generations.”

Gloss’s mother, Juliane Gallina Gloss, is the CIA’s deputy director for digital innovation, while his father is a U.S. Navy veteran and head of a company that develops software for the U.S. Department of Defense.

In August 2025, CNN reported that Russia had posthumously awarded its Order of Courage award to Gloss and that U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff had delivered it to his family.

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Russia renames school in occupied Ukraine after CIA official’s son who died fighting for Moscow

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Russia renames school in occupied Ukraine after CIA official’s son who died fighting for Moscow

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