CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly visited Moscow to warn Russia against attacking NATO's Baltic states
CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow this week, reportedly to warn Russian officials against escalating tensions with NATO, particularly Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Per CNN, RFE/RL and Stars and Stripes.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow on August 25, 2026, reportedly to warn Russian officials against escalating tensions with NATO, particularly Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, according to CNN, citing two people familiar with the matter, and separately reported by Politico and the Wall Street Journal. It was the first known visit by a CIA director to Moscow since Bill Burns traveled there in 2021 to warn against a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began three months later. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe did not meet Putin and that contact was at the intelligence-services level. Baltic officials, including Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, said their threat assessments have not changed. President Trump downplayed the trip as semi-routine. Sources: CNN, RFE/RL, Stars and Stripes.