Putin Gives Order of Lenin to Trump Envoy for CIA Deputy Director's Family
DMITROVSKY DISTRICT, MOSCOW OBLAST, AUG 10 – Putin awarded the Soviet-era Order of Lenin to Trump envoy Steve Witkoff to deliver to a CIA official whose son died fighting for Russia in Ukraine, underscoring strained US-Russia ties.
- On August 6, 2025, during discussions in Moscow, Vladimir Putin entrusted U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff with the Order of Lenin, intended for a senior CIA official.
- This followed the 2024 death of Michael Gloss, deputy CIA digital innovation chief Juliane Gallina's son, who served and was killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
- Gloss, aged 21, left the U.S. in 2023, enlisted with Russian forces despite his family’s lack of knowledge, and was part of broader foreign recruitment by Russia in the conflict.
- Larry Gloss expressed fear that Moscow would identify Gallina and use her son’s death as a political tool while awaiting his repatriation, highlighting tensions amid ongoing diplomacy.
- The award presentation signals Putin’s psychological strategy amid strained U.S.-Russia relations and pending high-level summits including talks on Ukraine’s future scheduled for August 2025.
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The award was personally handed over by the Russian president to Steve Witkoff, during their recent interview with the Kremlin. The story tastes like a gesture to soften the White House chief


Putin Trolls U.S. By Giving Trump Envoy Medal Meant For CIA Official
The award, the Order of Lenin, was meant to be handed off to Juliane Gallina, whose 21-year-old son, Michael Gloss, was killed in 2024, fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
CIA official's son killed in Ukraine war, Putin gives Trump's envoy Witkoff award to pass on to family
Russian President Vladimir Putin presented US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff with a special award to pass on to a senior CIA official whose son was killed while fighting in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war
When Trump's envoy visited Moscow, he received an unexpected snub from Putin. Steve Witkoff was asked to present a medal of valor to CIA Director Julianne Gallina Gloss. Her son Michael Gloss, 21, died in Ukraine fighting for Putin.
According to CBS News, the Russian president took advantage of his interview with Steve Witkoff, the US president's envoy, to address a provocation against the Americans.
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