US CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on August 25, 2026, holding meetings with Russian intelligence officials including FSB head Alexander Bortnikov, but did not meet President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on August 26. Peskov said, "He had contacts with Russian intelligence agencies but did not hold any form of meeting with the president" [1, 2]. This was Ratcliffe's first known visit to Russia as CIA chief and the first by a US intelligence director since William Burns in November 2021 [3, 4, 5].
Ratcliffe traveled on a US military C-17 plane flying from the US to Latvia, then on to Moscow's Vnukovo airport [3, 6, 7]. The CIA and White House declined to comment on the visit [3, 8]. US officials asked Ukraine to pause air strikes near Moscow and northern Russia from August 24 to 26 to accommodate the visit [9]. Former President Donald Trump described the visit as "in some sense semi-routine" and expressed the desire to see the war in Ukraine end [8].
The visit came amid stalled US-brokered negotiations aimed at ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine [3, 10, 9]. Ratcliffe privately warned Russian officials that Putin should negotiate a serious peace deal before Russia's military and economy deteriorate further [11]. He also cautioned Russia against limited attacks on NATO members, reflecting intelligence assessments about potential future provocations [8, 2].
In addition to Ukraine-related issues, Ratcliffe discussed Iran-related concerns with Russian officials, including shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and possible sanctions [4, 10, 8]. This followed a US warning on August 24 for countries to end business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions [9, 12]. Moscow denies aiding Iran militarily and said it remains willing to help resolve US-Iran tensions [2].
Earlier in August, Russia released a former US Marine detained since 2022 citing health reasons [3, 7]. After Ratcliffe's visit, reports indicated Putin was preparing to step up military strikes on Ukraine [9].
Ratcliffe's Moscow meetings mark a rare direct intelligence exchange amid heightened tensions and stalled diplomacy. The US and Russia have not announced any follow-up talks. The Kremlin's next scheduled update on the visit came on August 26, with no public plans for subsequent meetings disclosed [1, 5].
