New Details Revealed in CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s Mysterious Moscow Visit: Report

CIA Director John Ratcliffe speaks with reporters during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials during his brief, under-the-radar visit to Moscow — but did not have any face time with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to reports.

Ratcliffe’s surprise Tuesday visit was the first known trip to Moscow by a sitting CIA director since November 2021, when then-agency head William Burns visited the Russian capital to warn against the country’s buildup of troops ahead of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Few details emerged after Ratcliffe’s somewhat cloak-and-dagger trip, which became public after flight data revealed an American military transport had landed in Moscow.

While the Central Intelligence Agency did not comment on Ratcliffe’s trip, a spokesman for the Kremlin who spoke with the media Wednesday told reporters that the CIA boss did not see the Russian leader, according to CBS News.

Putin was briefed on Ratcliffe’s talks, said Dmitry Peskov, who added that it was “too soon to predict” whether the meeting would help alleviate what he described as a “deep crisis” in relations between the two countries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the network reported.

After word of the mysterious military transport’s trip became public, Financial Times reporter Christopher Miller wrote on X that President Donald Trump’s administration planned ahead for Ratcliffe’s safety — by going to Ukraine.

As Ukraine has repeatedly sent drone strikes deeper into Russian territory — including Moscow — the Trump administration asked Ukrainian officials not to strike Moscow, St. Petersburg or other nearby regions in the early part of this week, Miller reported.

The pause in strikes was requested for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Miller’s report.

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