Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe made a surprise visit to Russia this week. Ratcliffe is only the second CIA chief after William Burns to visit Russia in around four years, and his trip surprised everyone, with many speculating that he had gone to Moscow to warn Kremlin against striking a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member in Europe.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), even senior officials and military leaders were unaware about Ratcliffe’s Russia visit, let alone the message he was carrying. The secrecy was so much that Ratcliffe used a US C-17 military cargo plane, which he boarded from Latvia, to travel to Moscow, a move that even left senior European officials baffled.
The CIA has not commented on Ratcliffe’s trip, while the Trump administration called it was a ‘routine’ visit. However, the timing of the visit is critical, as reports have stated that the Russian forces are preparing to intensify their operations against Ukraine.
Limited strike on NATO?
The WSJ had earlier claimed that the Russians are planning to test the NATO after striking a member of the alliance in Europe. Another report by CBS News, meanwhile, said Russia could use “hybrid operations and other deniable measures short of conventional military action” against a NATO member.
They said Ratcliffe warned the Russians against targeting a NATO member and delivered the Trump administration’s message. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has downplayed that Ratcliffe warned the Russians and dismissed reports that Moscow will target a NATO member.
“I am not concerned … at all. There is no problem,” Trump told Axios when asked about a possible Russian attack on a NATO member. “Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six months or once every year. They have a very good relationship. There was no message and there was nothing unusual.”
The Russians have also dismissed such reports, calling them “scare stories”. “A lot of such scare stories are being published right now. Of course, they have nothing to do with reality,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Drones over Romania, Poland
Several of Russian drones were shot over Romania and Poland, both NATO members, after they entered their airspace. The Ukrainians have claimed that Russians are planning to mobilise 500,000 troops for a renewed offensive, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking assistance from NATO.
Ukraine’s allies, including the United Kingdom (UK), France and Germany, have pledged to continue support, but the Russians have said that London and Paris “are playing with fire” by providing technology that would allow Kyiv to conduct long-range attacks against Moscow.
“We have repeatedly warned that any British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and beyond its borders could be targeted in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory carried out using British weapons,” Al Jazeera quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying. “We propose that the British leadership once again carefully analyse the situation and immediately, in the most resolute and unequivocal manner, abandon the hostile, aggressive line.”
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