CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly travelled to Moscow to meet Russian intelligence officials, according to the Kremlin, in a rare direct contact between the two countries’ security services. President Donald Trump described the trip as “semi-routine” and linked it to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, though neither the White House nor the CIA had publicly confirmed details.

The Kremlin said Ratcliffe did not meet President Vladimir Putin, although Putin was kept informed. A Ukrainian official said Washington asked Kyiv to pause strikes on Moscow, St Petersburg and some northern regions while the delegation was present; strikes elsewhere continued. Ratcliffe is the first CIA director reported to have visited Moscow since William Burns in November 2021, shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.