CIA Director John Ratcliffe attends a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Office of the White House on May 27, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura | AFP | Getty Images
Amid growing concerns about further escalation of the war in Ukraine, US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe made a surprise visit to Moscow this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO, according to multiple media reports.
Mr Ratcliffe’s first public visit to the Russian capital as CIA director was revealed on Tuesday, when a US Air Force plane was spotted arriving at a Moscow airport and footage of a diplomatic convoy moving through the city was published on social media.
The purpose of Mr. Ratcliffe’s trip to the Russian capital was first reported Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources briefed on the trip.
Politico and CBS News separately reported similar motives, citing people familiar with the matter. CBS News added that Ratcliffe also mentioned Iran, warning of additional sanctions if the strategically important Strait of Hormuz does not reopen to shipping.
The Trump administration is threatening Iran’s trading partners with so-called secondary sanctions in an effort to ratchet up pressure on Iran’s economy after a six-month war between the United States, Israel and Iran.
China, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey are known as Iran’s major trading partners, while Russia has long had close economic and military ties with Iran.
Spokespeople for the CIA and the Russian embassy in London were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Russia and Ukraine have intensified a series of drone and missile attacks far beyond the front lines in recent weeks, raising concerns that the conflict could escalate further.
At the same time that analysts and external observers warn that a full-scale Russian invasion could soon enter a more dangerous phase, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to escalate the war.
In comments posted to X earlier this month, President Zelensky called on Russia’s partners to step up sanctions pressure on Moscow and provide more air defense support to Kiev.
The Russian military has increased the number of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, likely in an effort to take advantage of Kiev’s shortage of anti-ballistic missiles.
President Zelensky has repeatedly called on international partners to speed up the supply of anti-ballistic missiles to Ukraine, saying the technology could have saved the lives of those killed in Kiev on August 5.
