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CIA Director John Ratcliffe makes unannounced trip to Moscow, media reports say

Flight data showed a U.S. military transport aircraft arriving at a Moscow airport on Tuesday, marking what is reported to be the first visit by a CIA director to Russia since 2022.

Updated Aug 25, 2026 · 17:23 UTC6 reports

The short version

  • CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for unannounced meetings.
  • Flight-tracking data confirmed a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane flew to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport via Latvia before departing hours later.
  • The trip comes amid stalled U.S.-mediated negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine, though neither U.S. nor Russian officials have formally confirmed the visit's purpose or agenda.

Key facts

  • U.S. media outlets reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday to attend meetings.[ABC News · France 24 · BBC News · The Guardian · Deutsche Welle · CBS News]
  • Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III flew from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland via Latvia to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport and left several hours later.[ABC News · BBC News · The Guardian · Deutsche Welle]
  • The Financial Times reported that the Trump administration requested that Kyiv temporarily halt long-range strikes against major Russian cities for the duration of the visit.[The Guardian]
  • The CIA, the White House, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Air Force declined to comment on the trip.[ABC News · France 24 · BBC News · The Guardian · CBS News]
  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated he had no information regarding the arrival of a U.S. military aircraft in Moscow.[Deutsche Welle]

What remains uncertain

Sources