CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a trip to Moscow on Tuesday for discussions with Russian officials, as reported by various U.S. media sources. This visit marks the first known trip to Russia’s capital by a U.S. intelligence chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2021. Shortly 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 specifics of his meetings or the agenda. Other news outlets like ABC News, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal also covered the event.
The CIA chose not to provide any comments regarding the trip. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the report, stating that Putin did not have plans to meet with Ratcliffe.
Last week, the U.S. advised Ukraine against conducting airstrikes near Moscow, St. Petersburg, and certain northern Russian territories between Monday and Wednesday to accommodate the travel of a senior U.S. official to Moscow. The source did not offer further details, with the Financial Times initially reporting the U.S. message to Ukraine.
On Monday, the U.S. cautioned countries to sever business connections with Iran or face secondary sanctions. This action aimed to intensify economic pressure as part of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran that commenced in February.
Notably, the U.S. currently lacks an ambassador to Russia, a country that has a significant strategic partnership with Iran involving military, economic, and diplomatic cooperation. Tehran provided drones to Moscow for the conflict in Ukraine.
In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of supplying similar drones to Iran. A Ukrainian intelligence report in April, cited by Reuters, alleged that Russia had assisted Iran with satellite imagery for targeting U.S. facilities in the Middle East. Moscow has refuted these claims, expressing readiness to facilitate a resolution to the U.S.-Iran tensions.