CIA Chief’s Secret Moscow Visit Revealed After 8-Hour US Military Flight

Washington reportedly asked Kyiv to pause strikes on Moscow and St. Petersburg while CIA Director John Ratcliffe held undisclosed talks with Russian security officials. The request and the visit mark the first high-level CIA trip to Russia since 2021. A US C-17 military transport aircraft spent eight and a half hours on the ground in Moscow. The plane’s presence was first tracked by flight monitors. The visit was not publicly announced beforehand. The talks focused on unspecified security issues. The request for a pause in Ukrainian strikes suggests a US effort to create a secure environment for the discussions. No further details about the meeting’s outcomes have been released. The visit signals a rare direct channel between Washington and Moscow amid ongoing hostilities. The last CIA director to visit Russia was Gina Haspel in 2021. Ratcliffe’s trip underscores the sensitive nature of the dialogue. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin has issued an official statement on the meeting’s agenda. The pause in strikes, if confirmed, would be temporary and limited to the two Russian cities.