On Wednesday CIA Director John Ratcliffe landed in Moscow for a few hours of talk with Russian security officials. The trip was no secret as the planes transporting Ratcliffe and his entourage were readily identified.
There was no official announcement from either side about the content of the talks. U.S. media though were splattered with ‘leaks’ of more or less laughable details.
Let’s start with the New York Times:
C.I.A. Chief Delivered Bleak Assessment of Russia’s War in Secretive Moscow Visit (archived) – NY Times, Aug 27 2026
John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, made a secretive visit to Moscow this week to privately share his bleak assessment of the state of the Russian war against Ukraine, and to urge the Russians to cut a deal before their military and economic situation gets worse, current and former officials said.
Mr. Ratcliffe delivered the message to Aleksanndr V. Bortikov, the head of Russia’s F.S.B. intelligence service, …
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C.I.A. analysts have long questioned whether Mr. Putin’s advisers have given him honest assessments of the war’s trajectory and toll.
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Some officials said they hoped that Mr. Putin, a former intelligence officer himself, would see a message from the C.I.A. director as more urgent and credible than communications through normal diplomatic channels.
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It is not clear whether Mr. Ratcliffe’s message presages any change in U.S. policy toward Russia or Ukraine.
There are number of reasons why the claims in the above report are obviously fake.
– The Russian side of the war in Ukraine is the one that is winning. There is no real fear in Russia that its military or economic situation is getting worse.
– If Putin is, as alleged, not getting honest assessments from his people, why would anyone assume that whatever minion Ratcliffe talks to would turn around and tell Putin the ‘truth’. If Putin were indeed isolated by his people the only way to truly reach him would be to talk with him in person. Trump could simply phone him up it that were what is needed.
– Bortnikov is indeed head of Russia’s FSB intelligence service. But the FSB is tasked with internal security and counterespionage. It has little to do with the war in Ukraine. It is not the right partner for the CIA to talk to.
– Moreover it was Sergei Naryshkin, the head of the Russia’s foreign intelligence service SVR, who confirmed the meeting with Ratcliffe:
According to Naryshkin, such negotiations with the heads of the special services are part of the work and are held almost weekly.
“The meeting took place, there is nothing unusual in this,” Naryshkin assured. “In the practice of special services, meetings of managers, personal meetings or online are part of our work. So the meeting with John Ratcliffe is a working format.”
At the same time, Naryshkin refused to tell what issues were discussed, explaining that they were within the competence of the intelligence services.
The NY Times report is obviously bollocks, solely intended to sow doubt and confusion.
A Washington Post report about an alleged motive for the trip is likewise confused:
Putin sees U.S. as weakened by Iran war, intelligence reports say (archived) – Washington Post, Aug 27 2026
CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s mysterious trip to Moscow this week was preceded by fresh U.S. intelligence indicating that the Kremlin sees the United States as weakened by the Iran war, offering Russia an opportunity to escalate action against American interests and allies in Europe, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The details of Ratcliffe’s talks with his Russian counterpart remain secret, but one of the people told The Washington Post that the CIA chief warned Moscow against ramping up its war against Ukraine, arguing that such a move would backfire.
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The classified intelligence suggesting that Putin sees the U.S. as weakened by the six-month-old war in Iran follows reports of diminished troop readiness and munitions shortfalls as a result of the extended campaign against Tehran.
I also have intelligence, it’s unclassified, that everyone in this world, accept a few White House officials and WaPo opinion writers, believe that the war on Iran has weakened the U.S. of A.
That fact though has little to no immediate consequence for the war in Ukraine.
Politico provides a mix for the trip’s reasons:
CIA chief used Moscow visit to warn Russia against attacks on NATO allies, helping Iran – Politico, Aug 26 2026
CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russian officials in Moscow this week not to escalate conflict with America’s NATO allies, in particular Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in response to Moscow’s stalemated invasion of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. spy chief also used the rare, unannounced trip to the Russian capital on Tuesday to press Russia to reduce military and economic support for Iran, according to one of those two people and a U.K. official with knowledge of the trip.
This report, like the above NY Times one, presumes that Russia is losing or is in a stalemate in Ukraine. That is, as news from Kiev provides, pure nonsense.
Moreover Russia has no interest at all to escalate conflicts with the Baltics or any other NATO country. Any objective view will show that it is the NATO side which does its best to escalate the situation.
As for Iran – Moscow does not want the U.S. to win that conflict. It is, like China, standing on the side on Iran. It may have some interest though in prolonging the conflict in the Gulf if only to keep the U.S. off its own back.
An interesting conspiracy theory about the Ratcliffe visit is provided by blog-entry at the Conservative Treehouse site:
The Other Half of the Story – CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s Visit to Moscow – Conseative Treehouse / Sundance, Aug 26 2026
Western media are reporting that CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow, Russia, to warn his Russian counterpart Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), about striking back against Baltic states. However, that’s only half of the story.
Director Ratcliffe wasn’t simply telling Naryshkin not to hit back; he was telling Naryshkin that European NATO provocations against the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad (between Poland and Lithuania) were not ‘fully’ sanctioned by the United States.
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Apparently, European NATO is increasingly trying to provoke expanded conflict with Russia, while President Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe attempt to tamp down the problems being created.
That is a wild theory, with no evidence, but it is at least interesting.
If true though it would mean that the U.S. would not mind for Russia to hammer the NATO Europeans without itself hitting back. I doubt that it would be a sustainable position.
My own speculation is that Ratcliffe’s trip was nearly solely about the Iran situation.
The U.S. has likely asked Russia to not support Iran, while -in return- offering some empty concessions on Ukraine. As the current U.S. administration has proven itself to be not-agreement-capable any such deal is likely to see a Russian rejection.