CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in Moscow Tuesday for unannounced talks with the Kremlin, in the first such visit by a US spy chief since 2021.
Washington asked Kyiv to pause strikes during Ratcliffe’s four-hour trip. While details of his meetings weren’t released, the talks could have touched on a prisoner release or Russia’s support for Iran.
Recent intelligence reports indicate that Russia — facing mounting battlefield and economic pressures — could launch limited attacks on NATO members, and experts suggested Ratcliffe was there to warn Moscow against escalation: “It could be to say ‘We know what you are thinking about doing, and you better not,’” a former US intelligence official told The Wall Street Journal.