CIA Director John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow on Tuesday for undisclosed meetings, according to CBS News and other US media. His visit coincided with the highly unusual arrival of a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, although it has not been officially confirmed that Ratcliffe travelled aboard the aircraft.
The C-17, serial number 07-7181 and operating as RCH4555, flew from Riga to Moscow after arriving in the Latvian capital from Joint Base Andrews near Washington on 23 August. Flight-tracking data showed it landing at Vnukovo at around 07:00 GMT on 25 August. A US Air Force C-40, a type frequently used to transport senior government and military officials, had also arrived in Riga from Andrews on the previous day.
The US Embassy in Latvia said only that the C-17 was conducting official US government business. Neither Washington nor Moscow has disclosed the aircraft’s passengers or cargo, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed to have no information about the flight. The aircraft would necessarily have received special diplomatic and airspace clearances, as normal direct aviation links between the European Union and Russia remain heavily restricted.
CBS reported that Ratcliffe was in Moscow for meetings but did not identify his Russian interlocutors or the subjects discussed. The CIA also declined to comment. It appears to be Ratcliffe’s first known visit to Russia since becoming CIA director, although he has maintained contact with Russian intelligence officials.
The purpose of the visit remains open to speculation. Possible subjects include the stalled negotiations over the war in Ukraine, intelligence-level communications and further detainee exchanges. The CIA has previously played an important role in US-Russian prisoner negotiations, including the 2024 exchange that freed journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan, as well as the April 2025 release of US-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina.
The mission recalls then-CIA Director William Burns’s visit to Moscow in November 2021, when he met senior Russian officials and warned President Vladimir Putin against invading Ukraine. However, there is currently no evidence that Ratcliffe’s talks concerned a specific peace initiative or prisoner exchange.
The C-17’s arrival was especially conspicuous because US military flights to Russia have become extremely rare. Nevertheless, reports that it was the first such Moscow visit in ten years appear inaccurate: available reporting indicates that a C-17 last visited Moscow in 2017, while another US-registered government aircraft flew from Europe to Russia as recently as January 2026, carrying presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Sources: CBS News, Reuters on Ratcliffe’s visit and Reuters on the C-17 flight.