US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe is visiting Moscow for meetings, US media said on Tuesday, after flight data showed an American military aircraft flew to the Russian capital.
Axios separately confirmed it, quoting a US official. CBS News quoted sources familiar with the situation as confirming Ratcliffe’s trip, saying it was his first known visit to Russia as CIA chief. There was no immediate comment from the CIA or the White House. It was unclear if the meetings were about US efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Ratcliffe’s reported visit comes as US-brokered talks aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have stalled. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment on the aircraft. Earlier, data from Flightradar24 showed a US military C-17 travelling from the United States to Latvia and then on to Moscow. The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III plane arrived at Vnukovo airport in the Russian capital around 10 am after stopping in Latvia en route from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, flight tracking data showed. But Moscow earlier this month freed a former US Marine detained since 2022 amid concerns about his health.
The Kremlin has no meetings planned with US administration officials this week, he told reporters.
