Newsmax
CIA Director John Ratcliffe quietly traveled to Moscow this week on a mission personally ordered by President Donald Trump, delivering warnings to senior Russian officials about NATO while pressing the Kremlin on Ukraine and Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The mission was so clandestine that some senior White House officials and military leaders who ordinarily would have been briefed were unaware of it beforehand, according to U.S. officials who spoke with the outlet.
Ratcliffe flew from Latvia to Moscow aboard an unmarked U.S. C-17 military cargo plane.
Trump’s decision to send his CIA chief marked another attempt to deal directly with Moscow after previous diplomatic efforts failed to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia in recent months has escalated attacks on Ukraine while maintaining ties with Iran.
European officials scrambled for information after learning of Ratcliffe’s trip, the Journal reported. Two officials who were later briefed said Ratcliffe stressed to Russian intelligence officials that Washington remained committed to NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense provision.
The warning followed U.S. intelligence assessments that Moscow could test NATO’s resolve with a limited incursion in the coming years. European officials also have warned that Russia could use Ukrainian drones in a false-flag operation against countries on NATO’s eastern flank.
Trump, however, dismissed concerns Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would attack an alliance member.
He “won’t attack NATO territory,” Trump told reporters.
Ratcliffe also discussed restarting negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, U.S. and European officials told the Journal. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said Thursday that talks could resume in September.
The CIA director also pressed Moscow to cut economic and security ties with Iran as the Trump administration intensifies its sanctions campaign against Tehran, according to the report.
Some European leaders sought to tamp down fears of an imminent Russian attack.
“There is currently no reason for concern,” Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said in a social media video. “Latvia’s level of military threat hasn’t changed. The risk of direct military invasion threats to Latvia is currently low.”
European officials nevertheless remain concerned about Russia’s hybrid campaign against Ukraine’s allies, including drones, missiles, cyberattacks, and explosive-filled packages. Some believe Moscow could pose a greater conventional military threat by 2030 after rebuilding forces depleted in Ukraine.
Trump has made ending Russia’s invasion a priority of his second term, dispatching special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow several times and later sending son-in-law Jared Kushner to join him. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg have also participated in diplomatic efforts.
Ratcliffe has previously worked with Moscow to help secure the release of Americans held in Russia, U.S. officials told the Journal.
Former senior U.S. intelligence official J.C. Lintzenich said Ratcliffe’s mission was intended to make clear that Trump’s peace efforts would not weaken U.S. commitments to Europe.
“Putin has a tolerance for extraordinary risk and is even potentially willing to escalate to compel de-escalation, but he is unlikely to roll the dice on actions that could threaten the Russian state,” Lintzenich told the outlet.
Newsmax reached out to the CIA and the White House for comment but did not receive an immediate response from either.