CIA chief John Ratcliffe gives grim assessment of Russia-Ukraine war, urges Moscow to make deal with Kyiv: News | Today’s news
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Ratcliffe, who made an unannounced visit to Moscow on Tuesday, August 25, shared his gloomy assessment of the state of the Russian-Ukrainian war with his Russian counterparts, The New York Times reported. Ratcliffe made the secret visit to Moscow amid reports that Russia is planning to attack a NATO member country, most likely Poland, even as the war with Ukraine drags on.
The Wall Street Journal and CBS News reported that the purpose of CIA Director Ratcliffe’s visit was to deter Russia from attacking NATO members.
The New York Times report added that Ratcliffe met with Alexander V. Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s FSB intelligence service, and urged the Russians to make a deal before their military and economic situation worsened.
Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow
Ratcliffe, a longtime Russia hawk, is one of the most senior U.S. officials to visit Russia since its war with Ukraine began in 2022. His predecessor, William Burns, made the trip to Moscow in November 2021, just months before Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in an effort to dissuade Putin from continuing the invasion, now in its fifth year.
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The special military operation in Ukraine, which Russia estimates will last several days, has so far killed hundreds of thousands of people, and while it has exacted a heavy cost, the Kremlin has refused to soften its maximalist demands to keep Crimea, which it occupied in 2014, and full control over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye, which it now partially controls.
CIA analysts have long questioned whether Putin’s advisers were honestly assessing the course of the war and its consequences.
Ratcliffe discussed war with Iran
According to a NYT report, the CIA has long maintained communication channels with the FSB and Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service.
The report added that Ratcliffe did not threaten the possible consequences for the Russian side if President Vladimir Putin ignored the CIA director’s assessment and decided to continue the fight.
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CBS News reported that during his visit, Ratcliffe also discussed war with Iran and warned of more sanctions if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened to shipping.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s SVR, confirmed that he held a “working-level meeting” with Ratcliffe in Moscow, where they discussed unspecified and sensitive matters falling within the purview of their respective intelligence services.
Trump and Kremlin deny NATO attack plan
The Kremlin also dismissed US media reports suggesting Russia might attack NATO as “horror stories”.
“There are a lot of such scary stories coming out right now. Of course, they have nothing to do with reality,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
US President Donald Trump also expressed his belief on Thursday that Russia will not attack NATO territory.
“I’ve had good conversations with him. He’s not going to attack NATO territory,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if Putin had agreed not to do so.
