CIA Director makes unannounced Moscow visit, delivers warning to Kremlin

CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Moscow on Tuesday for an unannounced visit, marking his first publicly known trip to the Russian capital since taking office, according to U.S. officials.

Ratcliffe departed Washington on Sunday and traveled first to Latvia. On Tuesday morning, he flew from Riga to Moscow aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, according to public flight-tracking data and U.S. media reports.

The last publicly recorded deployment of a U.S. Air Force C-17 to Russia occurred in 2020, when a U.S. aircraft delivered ventilators and medical equipment as part of a $5.5 million humanitarian aid package during the COVID-19 pandemic, making Tuesday’s flight the end of a six-year hiatus for U.S. heavy aircraft presence in Russian territory.

The aircraft left Riga at about 8:50 a.m. Moscow time and landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport at about 10:04 a.m. local time. It departed Moscow shortly after 5:30 p.m. and returned to Riga a little more than an hour later.

A senior U.S. official familiar with the trip told Faytuks Network that Ratcliffe’s meetings in Moscow lasted about four hours.

The mission included an ultimatum addressing recent Russian drone incursions into NATO territory, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the matter. The message was also aimed at deterring Moscow from escalating attacks on Kyiv following Ukrainian strikes on warehouses tied to Russian commercial supply chains.

The information surrounding the purpose of Ratcliffe’s visit was independently confirmed to Faytuks Network by a second source familiar with the matter. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the trip.

The Kremlin publicly acknowledged the visit Wednesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials and did not meet with President Vladimir Putin. Peskov said Putin was briefed on the outcome of the talks but did not disclose what was discussed.

The visit came as Ukrainian forces have stepped up long-range strikes inside Russia and as concerns have grown over Russian military activity near NATO territory. Washington also informed Ukraine ahead of the trip that a senior U.S. delegation was traveling to Moscow and asked Kyiv to suspend strikes while the delegation was there, according to separate U.S. media reports.

Hours after Ratcliffe’s visit, images and reports circulating online drew attention to what appeared to be the removal or lowering of American flags at the U.S. Embassy compound in Moscow. The timing prompted speculation that the move was connected to the talks.

There is no evidence of such a connection. President Donald Trump had ordered U.S. flags flown at half-staff at federal facilities and American diplomatic missions worldwide beginning Tuesday in honor of country music legend Dolly Parton, who died earlier in the day. The White House proclamation specifically applied to U.S. embassies, consulates and other facilities abroad.

The U.S. has not publicly detailed Ratcliffe’s meetings or the substance of the discussions.

This is a breaking news story. The contents will be updated as more information becomes available.