CIA chief in Moscow for unannounced talks, US media reports

What the report says

BBC World News, citing its US partner CBS, reported that CIA director John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow for unannounced talks, with neither Washington nor Moscow confirming the purpose of the visit or who he was expected to meet. The report said Ratcliffe arrived in the Russian capital on Tuesday aboard a US military aircraft, and flight-tracking data showed the plane had travelled from the United States via Latvia before landing near Moscow. Social media footage also appeared to show the aircraft approaching Vnukovo airport and a diplomatic motorcade in the city.

If confirmed, the trip would be one of the most senior US visits to Russia during President Donald Trump’s second term and Ratcliffe’s first as CIA director. The BBC said he has previously maintained contact with Russian intelligence counterparts, and had been involved in earlier negotiations linked to detainee releases, including the case of Russian-American Ksenia Karelina. The CIA also took part in a 2024 prisoner swap that freed reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.

The reported meeting comes against the backdrop of strained US-Russia relations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. BBC World News noted that high-level in-person talks between the two countries are uncommon, and that recent US-led efforts to advance peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have not produced a breakthrough.