Kremlin denies US talks amid reports CIA Director Ratcliffe in Russia

Washington reportedly alerted Ukraine to refrain from strikes until delegation leaves Moscow, US media reports.

The United States’ spy main is reportedly visiting Moscow for meetings, according to US media outlets, adjacent arsenic the Kremlin says nary talks with US envoys are planned this week.

CBS News, citing unnamed sources acquainted with the situation, reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe was successful the Russian superior connected Tuesday.

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Axios separately confirmed the highest-level sojourn by a Trump medication authoritative to Russia since January, quoting a US official.

The outlets did not accidental whom helium was gathering oregon what the talks are expected to cover. The CIA declined to comment, according to the Reuters quality agency.

The quality comes aft a US subject transport craft travelled from Riga to Moscow, according to flight-tracking websites.

Russia, meanwhile, said nary talks betwixt Moscow and US envoys are planned this week, arsenic Russia-Ukraine bid negotiations stay stalled.

“No, determination are nary specified plans,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a property briefing connected Tuesday.

Asked astir reports that a US subject level landed successful Moscow connected Tuesday morning, Peskov said helium had “no specified information”.

Earlier, information from Flightradar24 showed a US subject C-17 travelling from the US to Latvia and past connected to Moscow, having departed Riga airdrome astatine 05:50 GMT and landing astatine astir 07:04 GMT.

Later, the ⁠plane ⁠believed to beryllium carrying Ratcliffe departed Moscow, according to information connected the flight-tracking website.

Ratcliffe’s reported sojourn comes arsenic US-brokered talks aimed astatine ending Russia’s penetration of Ukraine person stalled. But Moscow earlier this period freed a erstwhile US Marine detained since 2022 amid concerns astir his health.

Axios besides reported that Washington informed Ukraine of a elder delegation traveling to Moscow successful beforehand and asked it to suspend strikes until it leaves, quoting a root with cognition of the matter.

The Iran warfare is besides a unrecorded contented betwixt Washington and Tehran’s ally, Moscow.

CIA Director Ratcliffe has been reportedly cardinal to high-profile captive exchanges betwixt the US and Russia since US President Donald Trump took bureau successful January 2025, including the release of a US-Russian dual national, Ksenia Karelina.

If confirmed, the reports of his sojourn would people the archetypal specified travel since then-CIA Director William Burns travelled to Moscow successful 2021.