CIA director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on Tuesday for discussions with Russian authorities, as per reports from various U.S. media sources. This visit marks the first publicized trip to the Russian capital by a U.S. intelligence leader since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2021. Not long after that meeting, Putin initiated Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Reports from CBS News and Axios confirmed Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow. Ratcliffe, who previously served as the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, did not disclose the specific agenda or individuals he was meeting with during his stay. Additional coverage from ABC News, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal also highlighted the occurrence of this meeting.
The CIA has refrained from commenting on the visit, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the reports, stating that Putin had no scheduled meeting with Ratcliffe.
Last week, it was revealed that the U.S. had advised Ukraine against launching airstrikes near Moscow, St. Petersburg, and certain northern regions of Russia between Monday and Wednesday. This advisory was due to a senior U.S. official’s upcoming flight to Moscow, according to a source familiar with the situation. The source declined to provide further details, with the Financial Times being the first to report on the U.S. communication with Ukraine.
On Monday, the U.S. warned nations to sever business connections with Iran or face secondary sanctions, part of efforts to intensify economic pressure in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran that began in February.
Notably, the U.S. currently lacks a designated ambassador to Russia, a country closely aligned with Iran through substantial military, economic, and diplomatic affiliations. Tehran notably supplied Moscow with drones for its military actions in the Ukrainian conflict.
In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of providing similar drones to Iran. An intelligence evaluation from Ukraine, as reported by Reuters in April, alleged that Russia had assisted Iran with satellite imagery for targeting U.S. facilities in the Middle East. Moscow has denied these claims and expressed willingness to aid in resolving the U.S.-Iran discord.