CIA director makes secret visit to Moscow, raising questions on Ukraine, Iran and North Korea

CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on Tuesday (local time), according to US media reports, in what appears to be his first trip to Russia. The visit has drawn attention to the possibility that Washington conveyed messages on a range of issues — from the war in Ukraine to Iran and North Korea.

CBS News first reported the visit, citing sources, and the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post said they had independently confirmed it.

Earlier, a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft was spotted at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport alongside US diplomatic vehicles.

The aircraft, believed to have carried Ratcliffe, departed Joint Base Andrews near Washington on Sunday, stopped in Riga, Latvia, and then flew on to Moscow. According to the Post, the plane landed at around 10 a.m. local time and took off again at around 5 p.m.

US media outlets described the trip as what appears to be Ratcliffe's first visit to Russia. Both the CIA and the Kremlin declined to confirm or comment on whether he had traveled there.

It remains unclear whom Ratcliffe met in Moscow or what was discussed.

The Wall Street Journal noted, however, that US intelligence agencies have recently gathered information indicating Russia is planning covert operations in Europe to test NATO's resolve and undermine support for Ukraine.

Ratcliffe's predecessor, William Burns, also visited Moscow in November 2021 during the Joe Biden administration, meeting with President Vladimir Putin and warning that the United States had intelligence showing Russia was preparing a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia invaded the following February.

Beth Sanner, former deputy director of national intelligence, told the Journal that the visit could be intended to deliver a message: "We know what you're thinking about doing, and you better not do it."

Sanner added that the trip could also be connected to the Iran truce, or aimed at drawing another party into the discussions. She suggested the talks may have touched on Russia's support for Iran in the context of what she described as a US campaign to economically isolate the Iranian regime.

Rustam Churyakov, executive director of Laboratory Intelligence Express, a Moscow-based intelligence think tank, said there is no shortage of issues between the two countries. "There are many problems piling up between Russia and the United States — not just Ukraine, but Latin America, Iran and China," he said.

The visit also comes as President Donald Trump is working to restart dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, raising questions about whether North Korea-related discussions took place during Ratcliffe's time in Moscow.

North Korea's ties with Russia have deepened significantly following Pyongyang's deployment of troops to the Ukraine war, and Putin's influence over Kim has grown accordingly. Observers are watching whether Trump may have used Ratcliffe's visit to relay a message aimed at resuming North Korea-US talks.

Washington has also expressed concern over expanding North Korea-Russia military cooperation during the Ukraine conflict, suggesting Ratcliffe may have used the visit to probe the issue and convey the US position.

During his first term, Trump also activated intelligence channels ahead of his summits with Kim.

Then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang in late March 2018 — while serving as secretary of state-designate — and met with Kim. The first North Korea-US summit followed in Singapore that June. Pompeo was confirmed as secretary of state in the interim.

The visit marks the first time a senior US official has traveled to Russia since Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Putin in Moscow in January.