CIA chief Ratcliffe travels to Russia for unexplained meetings

The CIA director flew to Moscow aboard a US military transport plane, according to people familiar with the matter and Russian state media.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Russia for meetings, though the subject of the talks was unclear, Bloomberg reported.

A Boeing C-17 Globemaster III arrived at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after stopping in Latvia on a flight from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news service, which cited online flight-tracking data. The plane later departed Moscow for Latvia.

The CIA declined to comment, while the State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also declined to comment and said no meetings with US administration officials were planned this week.

The visit comes amid increased concern about Russian sabotage efforts in Europe. US efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine have been led by special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Russia for meetings, though the subject of the talks was unclear, Bloomberg reported.

The visit comes amid increased concern about Russian sabotage efforts in Europe. US efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine have been led by special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.