Putin hails bravery of U.S. national who died fighting for Russia | 2 Oct 2025 | Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised U.S. national Michael Gloss, who was killed in action in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) while fighting alongside Russian troops in April 2024. Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday, Putin acknowledged that he “was quite surprised” when he learned about Gloss, who happened to be the son of CIA Deputy Director Juliane Gallina. According to the Russian president, he became acquainted with the details during the process of the posthumous decoration of the fallen American fighter.”[Gloss] had undergone special training and was enlisted not simply into the armed forces, but into the elite units of the Russian armed forces, into the Airborne,” Putin revealed. He noted that the 21-year-old U.S. national “was fighting on the front line. He fought with dignity.”