Daniel Wolfram
The last time a CIA director went to Russia to warn Putin, the president began the invasion of Ukraine soon after.
It came as a surprise to many when reports emerged that the director of the world’s biggest intelligence service had flown to Russia.
There was quickly a lot of chatter and speculation online about what the head of the Central Intelligence Agency was doing in Moscow.
The real reason may have just been revealed.
A secret trip to Moscow
For the first time since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the director of the CIA traveled to Moscow for meetings with its Russian counterpart.
The head of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, landed in the nation’s capital around 10 a.m. on August 25. It is still unclear what the official objective of the meeting was.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Ratcliffe did not meet with President Putin personally, but instead held a meeting with Russian intelligence officials.
A major warning to Putin
The Wall Street Journal reports that the real objective of this meeting is to send a stern warning to Putin not to go ahead with his planned mobilization strategy in Ukraine or a possible test of NATO’s strength.
“It could be to say, ‘We know what you are thinking about doing, and you better not,’” said Beth Sanner, a former U.S. deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration.
She also argues that the meeting most likely touched on the ongoing war in Iran and that the CIA wants the Kremlin to halt support after the US announced an “economic D-Day” on Iran.
The meeting raises more questions than answers
Intelligence agencies from both Russia and the US are staying silent regarding the secret meeting.
The CIA declined to comment, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that reason for the meeting was for “contacts between security services.”
The last time a director of the CIA went to Moscow was in November 2021 during the Biden administration. The director at the time, William Burns, also had a meeting with Putin where he warned him against invading Ukraine. Three months later, the invasion began.
John Ratcliffe’s time in Moscow lasted about four hours before he boarded a plane and went home.
