CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly visited Moscow on Tuesday, Aug. 25, for private meetings with Russian authorities, in his first known visit to the country since taking charge of the agency.
CBS News reported the visit on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter after a US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport plane landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. The plane flew in from Riga, Latvia, raising questions about the flight’s unusual route.
Neither Washington nor Moscow commented on the purpose of the visit or publicly identified the US official that arrived in Russia, according to CBS News.
“We have no information about this,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the aircraft, adding that Russia was not planning meetings with the US administration this week.
Axios, citing two anonymous US officials, reported that Washington had informed Kyiv ahead of the alleged visit that a high-level US delegation was traveling to Moscow and had asked Ukraine to refrain from strikes on the Russian capital.
Sources in Ukrainian government circles later confirmed the account to Suspilne media, saying the request also covered St. Petersburg.
Neither the White House nor the Kremlin had confirmed Ratcliffe’s reported visit at the time of publication.
Visit comes amid stalled peace efforts
Ratcliffe’s alleged visit comes as US-mediated efforts to advance peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine remain stalled.
Moscow continues to dismiss the prospect of a ceasefire and has yet to join the negotiating table, which Ukraine is seeking to encourage by targeting Russia’s critical oil and energy infrastructure, alongside the logistics network.
According to CBS News, the CIA director has maintained contact with Russian intelligence counterparts, though it has not been confirmed whether Russian authorities had been informed of his visit in advance.
CIA role in previous detainee exchanges
The agency has also been involved in recent detainee exchanges between the US and Russia, CBS News reported.
In April 2025, US-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina was released in an exchange after Ratcliffe had personally negotiated her case.
The CIA was also reportedly involved in a 2024 prisoner exchange that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.
Former CIA Director William Burns traveled to Moscow in November 2021, meeting with Russian officials and speaking directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin to deliver a warning from Washington against a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to CBS News.
C-17 flight draws attention
The US aircraft – identified as RCH4555 – departed Riga at around 8:50 a.m. before landing in Vnukovo airport at roughly 10:04 a.m.
Flight-tracking data indicated that the aircraft first arrived in Riga on Sunday, Aug. 23, after departing from Camp Springs, Maryland, home to Andrews Air Force Base.
The C-17 Globemaster III is a military transport aircraft designed to carry personnel, military equipment and heavy cargo over long distances, including armored vehicles and helicopters.
Kyiv secures new defense commitments
The alleged visit came as Ukraine marked its 35th Independence Day on Monday, Aug. 24, with allies gathering in Kyiv to pledge additional support and air defenses.
On the same day, Ukraine signed an artificial-intelligence (AI) defense partnership with the UK, granting British researchers access to Ukraine’s Avengers AI Labs battlefield-data platform to support the joint development of new military technologies.
The agreement marked another step in the countries’ defense partnership.
On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine has received additional Patriot missiles critically needed for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. He also said that Ukraine had received confirmation from the UK regarding the production of SCALP long-range missiles.
Meanwhile, the US has refused to join a UN statement condemning Russia’s strikes on Ukraine again as 50 countries called for an immediate ceasefire.
The US has previously declined to support similar Ukrainian initiatives at the UN.
US President Donald Trump has long resisted calling Russia as the aggressor in Ukraine’s war, although his diplomatic stance changed in the past months due to Ukraine’s battlefield advance.
During the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on July 7-8, Trump has even floated granting Ukraine a license to produce its own Patriot interceptors, though he has since softened his earlier commitment.