CIA Director John Ratcliffe travels to Moscow on unannounced visit
Ratcliffe landed at Vnukovo Airport aboard a US Air Force transport aircraft after Ukraine agreed to pause drone strikes on the Russian capital.
Flight movements and unannounced arrival
CIA Director John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, marking his first known visit to Russia since taking office in 2025. Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 recorded a United States Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft departing Joint Base Andrews near Washington on Sunday, 23 August 2026, and landing in Riga, the capital of Latvia. On Tuesday morning, the same aircraft departed Riga and flew directly to Vnukovo Airport in Moscow before taking off again from the Russian capital early that evening. United States media outlets CBS News and Axios first reported Ratcliffe's trip, though neither Washington nor Moscow issued an official confirmation regarding his presence or schedule.
- Donald Trump announces the release of former US Marine Robert Gilman after talks with Vladimir Putin
- US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III departs Andrews air base and lands in Riga
- US military aircraft lands at Moscow Vnukovo airport and departs in the early evening
Security arrangements and Kremlin response
During his daily press briefing on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that he did not possess information about Ratcliffe's visit. Peskov had previously noted that no meetings between Russian officials and representatives of the United States administration were scheduled for the week. To facilitate the travel of the senior United States official, Washington secured prior assurances from Kyiv that Ukrainian forces would halt drone operations against Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and several other regions in northern Russia across Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The temporary halt followed months of Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian territory well behind front lines in response to Russia's military campaign, which reached its 1,644th day on Tuesday.
Strategic agenda and prior diplomatic channels
Ratcliffe's unannounced mission took place as formal negotiations over the war in Ukraine remained stalled despite United States President Donald Trump's stated desire for a quick peace resolution. In addition to the conflict in Ukraine, the visit encompassed discussions surrounding United States efforts to rally foreign powers behind economic pressure on Iran, as well as negotiations over prisoner exchanges. Several United States nationals remain detained in Russia. On 11 August 2026, Trump announced that he had secured the release of former United States Marine Robert Gilman through direct communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump had previously dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to Moscow for talks with Russian leadership.
Parallel diplomatic contacts and international developments
The intelligence visit coincided with other high-level diplomatic and international developments centered on Moscow. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's foreign minister, met in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday to call for formal peace talks to halt the fighting.
This war must end.
During his discussions with Lavrov, Gallagher warned about the rising diplomatic costs of a prolonged war.
The longer the conflict goes on, the harder it will be to reach an adequate solution.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Ukraine's defense sector faces a $27 billion budget deficit. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected allegations from French agency Viginum regarding disinformation campaigns targeting French presidential candidates, including Gabriel Attal, Raphaël Glucksmann, and Édouard Philippe.
