CIA Director John Ratcliffe has made an unannounced journey to Moscow for talks with Russian officers, CNN reported.
Earlier than his journey, the US requested Ukraine to briefly cease drone and missile assaults on Moscow and different cities in northern Russia, in accordance with the report.
The request lined Monday by way of Wednesday, and Kyiv was knowledgeable {that a} senior US official can be travelling to Russia.
The key go to comes at a delicate second for Washington’s efforts to get Moscow and Kyiv nearer to a deal.
US Navy Plane Lands In Moscow
Early on Tuesday a US Boeing C-17 Globemaster III army transport plane landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Worldwide Airport.
Flight-tracking web site Flightradar24 confirmed that the plane appeared to have departed from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
A Latvian Defence Ministry spokesperson informed CNN that the flight had been cleared to function within the area. The spokesperson mentioned the flight was “correctly coordinated and authorised for operation inside the airspace”.
Moscow-Tehran Ties Add One other Layer
Ratcliffe’s Moscow go to additionally comes only a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled “Operation Financial Outcast”, a brand new marketing campaign aimed toward slicing Iran off from the worldwide financial system.
The technique targets nations and entities that proceed doing enterprise with Tehran, and Russia is amongst Iran’s key strategic buying and selling companions.
US Intelligence Warns Of Putin’s Subsequent Strikes
The CIA chief can also be travelling to Moscow as recent US intelligence assessments recommend Russian President Vladimir Putin may take a look at NATO’s unity with a restricted assault on one in every of its member states inside the subsequent few years.
Officers say the eventualities being examined vary from cyberattacks and covert operations to a small-scale army incursion.
US-Russia Detainee Exchanges
The CIA has performed a task in a number of latest detainee exchanges between Washington and Moscow. Ratcliffe personally negotiated the April 2025 launch of Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russian twin nationwide.
The company was additionally concerned within the 2024 prisoner swap that introduced house Wall Road Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.
