CIA director John Ratcliffe embarked on a trip to Moscow on Tuesday for discussions with Russian officials, as per reports from multiple U.S. media outlets. This visit marks the first known presence of a U.S. intelligence leader in the Russian capital since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, engaged in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2021. Approximately three months after this meeting, Putin initiated the invasion of Ukraine.
Reports from CBS News and Axios unveiled Ratcliffe’s secret journey to Moscow. Ratcliffe, who previously served as the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, is speculated to be in discussions with undisclosed counterparts, with the agenda of the talks remaining undisclosed. ABC News, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal also confirmed the occurrence of the meeting.
The CIA has refrained from making any official comments on the matter. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the reports, stating that Putin had no scheduled meeting with Ratcliffe. Last week, the U.S. advised Ukraine against conducting airstrikes in specific regions around Moscow and St. Petersburg as a senior U.S. official was expected to fly to the Russian capital.
A source familiar with the situation disclosed that the U.S. had issued this request to Ukraine, with the Financial Times being the first to report on the communication. Furthermore, the U.S. warned countries on Monday to sever business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions as part of efforts to intensify economic pressure amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran initiated in February.
Notably, the U.S. currently lacks an ambassador to Russia, which maintains a robust strategic partnership with Iran encompassing significant military, economic, and diplomatic affiliations. Tehran has reportedly provided Moscow with drones for use in the conflict in Ukraine.
In earlier developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia in March of supplying its drone technology to Iran. An intelligence assessment from Ukraine, reported by Reuters in April, indicated that Russia had assisted Iran by providing satellite imagery for targeting U.S. facilities in the Middle East. Moscow has denied these allegations and expressed willingness to help resolve the U.S.-Iran discord.