CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Moscow on Tuesday for an unannounced visit, marking his first publicly known trip to the Russian capital, according to U.S. officials.
Early this morning, Faytuks Network Intelligence noted an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft approaching and landing in Moscow. It was later confirmed that the Director was on that aircraft. Ratcliffe spent about four hours in Moscow before departing, officials said. The visit had not been publicly announced by the U.S. or Russian governments.
The trip included a visit to the Kremlin and was intended to deliver an ultimatum over 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.
Ratcliffe’s visit comes at a tense point in the war in Ukraine, with concerns growing in Washington and across NATO over the risk that attacks or drone activity near alliance territory could widen the conflict.
The trip is the first known visit by a CIA director since November 2021, when then-Director Bill Burns traveled to Moscow to warn Russian officials against invading Ukraine.
Neither Washington nor the Kremlin has publicly announced the visit or detailed any meetings involving Ratcliffe.
This is a breaking news story. The contents will be updated as more information becomes available.
