IS CIA DIRECTOR RATCLIFFE IN RUSSIA? KREMLIN DENIES ANY US TALKS

Wed 26 August 2026:

US media outlets report that America’s top intelligence official is in Moscow for discussions, even though the Kremlin has stated that no meetings with US envoys are scheduled this week.

Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, CBS News said CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in the Russian capital on Tuesday.

Axios separately confirmed the highest-level visit by a Trump administration official to Russia since January, quoting a US official.

The outlets did not say whom he was meeting or what the talks are expected to cover. The CIA declined to comment, according to the Reuters news agency.

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The news comes after a US military transport aircraft travelled from Riga to Moscow, according to flight-tracking websites.

Russia, meanwhile, said no talks between Moscow and US envoys are planned this week, as Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations remain stalled.

“No, there are no such plans,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Asked about reports that a US military plane landed in Moscow on Tuesday morning, Peskov said he had “no such information”.

Earlier, data from Flightradar24 showed a US military C-17 travelling from the US to Latvia and then on to Moscow, having departed Riga airport at 05:50 GMT and landing at nearly 07:04 GMT.

Later, the ⁠plane ⁠believed to be carrying Ratcliffe departed Moscow, according to data on the flight-tracking website.

Ratcliffe’s reported visit comes as US-brokered talks aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have stalled. But Moscow earlier this month freed a former US Marine detained since 2022 amid concerns about his health.

Axios also reported that Washington informed Ukraine of a senior delegation traveling to Moscow in advance and asked it to suspend strikes until it leaves, quoting a source with knowledge of the matter.

The Iran war is also a live issue between Washington and Tehran’s ally, Moscow.

CIA Director Ratcliffe has been reportedly central to high-profile prisoner exchanges between the US and Russia since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, including the release of a US-Russian dual national, Ksenia Karelina.

If confirmed, the reports of his visit would mark the first such trip since then-CIA Director William Burns travelled to Moscow in 2021.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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