CIA Chief Ratcliffe Makes Secret Trip to Moscow

CIA chiefChief inRatcliffe Makes Secret Trip to Moscow

Published 4 days ago

CIA Chief Ratcliffe Makes Secret Trip to Moscow

story

Above: John Ratcliffe at the White House on April 6. Image credit: Celal Gunes/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Spin

Ratcliffe's Moscow visit signals serious American resolve, not diplomatic weakness. Much like Burns' 2021 trip to warn Putin against invading Ukraine, this visit likely carries a direct warning about Russian escalation against NATO and Europe. As one of the most pro-Ukraine voices in the Trump administration, Ratcliffe's travelingtrip personally sends an unmistakable message that Washington's patience has real limits.

Visioner on X

Anton Gerashchenko on X

Boris Alexander Beissner on X

Sending the CIA director straight to Moscow while pressuring Ukraine to halt its own drone and missile strikes is a breathtaking sellout of a democratic ally. Forcing Kyiv to hold fire just to keep Kremlin skies safe for American back-channel talks hands Russia a strategic gift it didn't earn. Strongman diplomacy that treats sovereign allies as bargaining chips doesn't broker peace — it rewards aggression.

Yasmina on X

Illia Ponomarenko on X

A U.S. military transport plane landing in Moscow has drawn worldwide attention; however, the Kremlin has no information about the aircraft and no meetings with U.S. administration representatives are planned this week.

TASS

Metaculus Prediction

There's a 3% chance that there will be a direct conflict between Russia and any NATO member state before 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.