Aug 26, 7:02 AM
CIA Director Makes Secret Moscow Trip in Unannounced High-Level Visit
John Ratcliffe flew to the Russian capital for undisclosed talks. Washington and Moscow have not confirmed the nature of the visit.
The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency made an unannounced trip to Moscow on Tuesday, according to US media reports. John Ratcliffe reportedly arrived in the Russian capital for talks, though neither Washington nor Moscow has officially confirmed the nature of the visit or who he was due to meet.
Flight tracking data confirmed a large US military aircraft traveled to Russia from the US via Latvia on Tuesday. The C-17 transport plane was seen approaching Moscow's Vnukovo international airport in footage posted on social media. According to FlightRadar24 data, it departed Riga at 05:50 GMT and landed in Moscow around 07:04 GMT, before returning to Riga shortly before 17:00 GMT. Social media footage also appeared to show a diplomatic motorcade traveling through Moscow.
Ahead of the trip, the US told Ukraine that a senior delegation would be traveling to Moscow and asked Kyiv to suspend strikes until they had left, a senior Ukrainian official told CBS News. The trip is thought to be Ratcliffe's first to Russia as CIA director, although he has maintained contact with his intelligence counterparts in Moscow.
John Foreman, who served as a British military attaché to Moscow between 2019 and 2022, told the BBC's PM programme that the visit could be focused on "escalation management" given speculation recent drone activity in Germany could be linked to Russia. He also suggested the trip could concern the release of US detainees currently held in Russia.
Ratcliffe played a role in negotiations for the release of Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina, who was jailed in Russia for over a year after being accused of providing support to Ukraine. The CIA was also involved in a 2024 prisoner swap deal with Russia that saw the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
The visit comes amid strained US-Russia relations since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ratcliffe appears to be one of the highest-ranking US officials to visit Russia during President Donald Trump's second term. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska last year, but the meeting did not lead to a breakthrough. Subsequent US-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appear to have stalled.
The Kremlin has not yet commented on the reported visit.
Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com
