By Brett Forrest and Joel Schectman

The son of a senior Central Intelligence Agency official was killed last year in eastern Ukraine, the CIA said, after signs that he became increasingly disillusioned with the U.S. and joined the Russian military.

Michael Gloss, whose mother, Juliane Gallina, is the CIA's deputy director for digital innovation, died during an offensive in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

"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," a CIA spokeswoman said in a statement. "The entire CIA family is heartbroken for their loss."

Once an Eagle Scout, Gloss dropped out of college in 2023 and moved to Turkey, later relocating to Russian-occupied Ukraine, one of a small but growing number of Americans who have come to sympathize with Moscow in its war with Kyiv.

Gloss's parents said: "We adored our son and grieve his loss every moment. We appreciate privacy at this difficult time," according to the CIA statement, which described the death as a family tragedy unrelated to its national security mission.

Moscow has cultivated disaffected Americans in recent years, presenting itself as an ideological ally. According to Russian state statistics, nearly 5,000 Westerners have received temporary residency in the country since the beginning of 2022, a sharp increase over preceding decades.

Gloss's death was reported earlier by iStories, a Russian media site located outside the country, which accessed online military databases.

In 2021, Gloss appeared to be on a more-conventional path as a young social-justice activist in Washington. In social-media posts, he opposed abortion restrictions and urged action to combat climate change.

"How are you gonna explain to your kids that you did nothing when democracy fell?" he wrote under an Instagram post about a pro-choice protest in 2022.

He joined a climate demonstration the same year at a charity baseball game in Washington involving members of Congress. Gloss attempted to block attendees as they entered Nationals Park, the home of Washington's professional baseball club. One man with a young child shoved Gloss. "You're killing your daughter," Gloss repeatedly screamed at the man, in a video of the event.

Interested in sustainable agriculture, Gloss hoped to study in India. He pursued a degree in human ecology at College of the Atlantic in Maine before dropping out in 2023, according to an obituary posted by a Virginia funeral home.

In Turkey, he joined a vibrant bohemian scene in Istanbul, attending several monthlong outdoor festivals outside the city. One acquaintance said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Gloss fit in with an international group of backpackers and local artists, though he appeared a little lost.

In his profile on the Russian social-media site VKontakte, where he called himself Khamza Ali, Gloss wrote that he was a "multipolar world advocate. I ran away from home. I traveled the world. I hate fascism. I love my homeland."

After leaving Turkey, Gloss appears to have joined the war in Ukraine and began echoing Kremlin talking points.

In an Instagram post from Crimea, he decried "Zoolenskyy," a reference to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who Gloss said had turned his country's population "into ground meat for military industrial complex money."

The Trump administration is seeking to halt the war in Ukraine, seeking the backing of Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin for a plan that includes territorial concessions by Kyiv. Trump met with Zelensky Saturday in Rome at Pope Francis' funeral.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe has spoken with Russia's foreign intelligence chief by phone about de-escalating tensions between the countries, and worked with senior Russian intelligence officials to release an American held in Russia and swap American and Russian detainees in Abu Dhabi.

Gloss's death opens a window into a family tragedy of a senior CIA official.

A Naval Academy graduate, Gallina worked early in her career in the CIA's science and technology directorate and was assigned temporarily to the National Reconnaissance Office, a separate agency that builds and launches U.S. spy satellites, according to a CIA press release. She later worked as a vice president at IBM before rejoining the CIA.

When Gallina was named deputy director for digital innovation last year, then-CIA director William Burns said in a statement that her "exceptional breadth of experience, as well as her passion for technology and the Agency workforce make her a natural selection" for the post. The position oversees acquisition of new technology for the agency.

"CIA considers Michael's passing to be a private matter for the Gloss family -- not a national security issue," the CIA spokeswoman said.

Write to Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@wsj.com and Joel Schectman at joel.schectman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2025 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.