CIA Director John Ratcliffe on secret trip in Russia

CIA Director John Ratcliffe is in Moscow, Russia, for meetings, sources familiar with the situation told CBS News on Tuesday.

News of his trip comes after a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane was spotted at a Moscow airport, along with a U.S. diplomatic motorcade. Neither the U.S. nor Russian governments has commented on the identity of the U.S. official in Russia or the purpose of the visit.

It appears to be Ratcliffe's first known trip to Russia as CIA director, though he has maintained contact with Russian intelligence counterparts.

Ratcliffe's visit also comes as recent U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that Putin's risk calculus may be shifting, with the Russian leader potentially increasingly willing to authorize provocative actions against NATO members — including hybrid operations and other deniable measures short of conventional military action — in order to test the resolve of the alliance and the Trump administration.

The CIA has also played a role in recent U.S.-Russia detainee exchanges, including the April 2025 release of a U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina , whose case Ratcliffe personally negotiated. The agency was also involved in the 2024 prisoner exchange that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan.

Former CIA Director William Burns traveled to Moscow in November 2021, when he met with senior Russian officials and spoke directly with President Vladimir Putin to warn him against invading Ukraine.

Ratcliffe's visit comes as U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine remain mostly stalled, with the sides still far apart on core issues.