CIA director Ratcliffe flies to Moscow — first visit since 2021

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow: on the morning of August 25, a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 military transport aircraft flew into Vnukovo from Riga, and at around 7:00 p.m. the plane departed back.

This was reported by Meduza, citing a number of sources.

It is the first visit by a CIA director to Moscow since 2021, when the agency’s previous director, William Burns, traveled there. Ratcliffe’s current trip also marked the first visit by a representative of the U.S. administration to Russia since January 2026.

The official purpose of the visit was not disclosed. The Kremlin stated that it allegedly knew nothing about an American aircraft at Vnukovo and had not planned any meetings with representatives of the U.S. administration that week. Kremlin pool correspondent Alexander Yunashev reported that against the backdrop of Ratcliffe’s visit, Vladimir Putin changed his work schedule, canceling a large-scale event planned for August 25. Axios claims that Ratcliffe came for negotiations, but with whom and about what was not specified. On the day of the visit, Putin signed three classified decrees whose contents are unknown.

Several theories have emerged around the trip. According to one of them, the visit is connected to the release of U.S. citizen Charles Zimmerman, who was convicted in Russia. This was written by Ksenia Sobchak in her Telegram channel “Krovavaya Barynya,” without citing a source. If so, Zimmerman would become the second American in a month to be pardoned by Russian authorities and returned home: the first was Robert Gilman, whose return without an exchange was interpreted as possible preparation for a new round of peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv with U.S. participation.

According to another theory, Ratcliffe was in Moscow to discuss a certain “important operation.” This information was circulated by the Telegram channel Ukraine Context, which is close to the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Kyrylo Budanov. The channel’s authors claim that the operation had been “prepared in secrecy for some time” and that its “results may be of significant importance for further processes.”

A third theory was put forward by The Wall Street Journal: according to the newspaper, Ratcliffe came to deliver a “warning” to Putin. The United States has gathered intelligence indicating that Russia has begun preparing for mobilization to continue the war with Ukraine and may be planning to “test NATO’s resolve” by staging a provocation against alliance member states. The outlet also suggests the visit may have been connected to the war between the United States and Iran: Russia is an ally of Tehran, and on the eve of the visit Washington announced a new campaign of economic pressure against its adversary.

American journalist Michael Weiss also suggested that Ratcliffe came to warn of a possible escalation by the Kremlin against Europe and NATO.

“This is connected to U.S. intelligence shared with Poland, the Baltic states, and Scandinavia, and comes against the backdrop of a notable increase in alleged GRU sabotage operations and Russian drone activity,” he claims.

On the eve of Ratcliffe’s visit, the United States asked Ukraine not to strike Moscow. According to an Axios source, Washington notified Kyiv of the arrival of a high-level delegation and asked it to pause attacks. According to the FT, the United States also asked Ukraine not to attack St. Petersburg and Russia’s northern regions through August 26 inclusive.

Ratcliffe’s visit had an impact on the Russian stock market: on the news of the official’s arrival, the Moscow Exchange index rose by more than 3% — to 2,141.46 points. After reports that the American aircraft had departed from Vnukovo, the index fell.