Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Ratcliffe reportedly traveled to moscow, russia, on a military transport plane, according to US media outlets Axios and CBS News, citing US officials and sources familiar with the matter today.
Russian and US officials have not yet confirmed Ratcliffe's visit.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 previously showed a US Boeing C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft departing from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, stopping in Riga, Latvia, on 23/8 before continuing its journey and landing at Vnukovo International Airport, moscow, on 25/8.
Hours before US media reported on the CIA director's trip, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that they had no information about such a flight as shown on Flightradar24 data.
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CIA director John Ratcliffe at a White House press conference in april. Photo: AFP |
An anonymous source told Kyiv Independent that the US had asked Ukraine to temporarily halt attacks on moscow and St. Petersburg prior to Ratcliffe's trip. The source stated that Ukraine would be informed about the CIA director's meetings in russia.
This visit, if confirmed, would mark the first known trip by a high-level US official to russia since envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met President Putin in january to discuss Ukraine peace talks.
The last time a CIA director visited russia was in 11/2021, just months before President Vladimir Putin ordered an operation in Ukraine. At that time, CIA director William Burns met Nikolai Patrushev, then-Secretary of the Russian Security Council.
Since his appointment in 1/2025, Ratcliffe has maintained regular contact with Sergey Naryshkin, director of russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
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Flight data for a Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. Photo: Flightradar24/Moscow Times |
US President Donald Trump has pledged to mediate an end to the Ukraine conflict. However, he has faced difficulties in bringing moscow and Kyiv to a compromise, amid intensified airstrikes on targets deep within each other's territory this summer.
Last month, sources told Politico that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel is planning to visit moscow and St. Petersburg in october.
Huyen Le (According to AFP, Moscow Times, The Kyiv Independent)
