CIA Chief Travels to Moscow for Unannounced Talks, US Media Reports
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CIA chief travels to Moscow for unannounced talks, US media reports
Image source:
Getty Images
Image caption:
John Ratcliffe reportedly travelled to the Russian capital on board a military plane on Tuesday.
By Joe Coughlan
Published 25 August 2026
The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has travelled to Moscow for unannounced talks, CBS has reported, citing BBC US news partner.
John Ratcliffe reportedly arrived in the Russian capital earlier on Tuesday. Neither Washington nor Moscow have confirmed the nature of the visit or who he was due to meet.
In-person talks between high-level American and Russian officials are rare.
Flight tracking data confirmed a large US military aircraft travelled to Russia from the US via Latvia on Tuesday. It departed later that day.
BBC News has reached out to the CIA, the White House, and Pentagon for comment.
Footage posted on social media showed the C-17 transport plane approaching Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport.
According to data from FlightRadar24, it departed Riga airport at 05:50 GMT and landed in the Russian capital around 07:04 GMT, before returning to Riga shortly before 17:00 GMT.
Social media posts also purportedly showed a diplomatic motorcade driving through Moscow.
Ahead of the trip, the US told Ukraine that a senior delegation would be travelling to Moscow and requested Kyiv to suspend strikes until after their departure, a senior Ukrainian official revealed to CBS.
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