CIA director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, U.S. media outlets reported, citing unnamed sources. It’s a rare and unusual visit.
CBS News and Axios reported on the visit by Ratcliffe, U.S. President Donald Trump’s CIA chief. ABC News, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal also reported that the meeting was taking place. No leaks on why yet, but there are some possibilities.
Possibilities
The U.S. doesn’t have an ambassador to Russia, a close strategic partner with Iran. Tehran supplies drones to Russia in its war against Ukraine. Maybe Rathtcliffe is substituting for an ambassador as the President warns nations against doing business with Tehran.
There is another pressing issue. Putin has threatened a NATO country, the UK.
Russia says the UK’s decision to share missile blueprints with Ukraine is evidence of its direct military involvement in the war.
Factories manufacturing drones in the United Kingdom for export to Ukraine could come under attack from “unknown sources”, a Kremlin adviser has said, after Britain agreed to share long-range missile blueprints with Kyiv.
Andrei Fedorov, an adviser to the Kremlin and a former deputy foreign minister, told British broadcaster BBC on Tuesday that he could not “exclude 100 percent” that there might be some “semi-military” action against Britain, as UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Ukraine.