CIA director visited Moscow to warn Russia against attacking NATO: report

CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s surprise visit to Moscow this week was intended to deliver a clear warning to Russia not to attack any NATO countries, according to The Wall Street Journal.

It reported that the mission followed recent US intelligence assessments indicating Russian President Vladimir Putin could attempt to test the alliance’s resolve with a limited assault on a member state in the coming years.

Ratcliffe, making his first publicly known visit to the Russian capital as CIA director, arrived Tuesday aboard a US military transport plane after a stop in Riga, Latvia, and spent several hours in Moscow before departing the same day.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the CIA chief met with Russian intelligence officials but did not see Putin, though the Russian president was promptly briefed on the discussions.

“All I can tell you is that there have been contacts via the security services,” Peskov said, adding that there were “no meetings of any kind with the Russian president.”

The warning comes amid updated US intelligence reports, first detailed by the Journal earlier in August, that reverse earlier assessments that Putin would avoid provoking NATO while the war in Ukraine continued.

Officials now assess that scenarios ranging from cyberattacks and hybrid operations to a small-scale land incursion—potentially targeting the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania—could occur between this fall and 2029.

The goal, according to those familiar with the assessments, would be to fracture the alliance and challenge the credibility of Article 5 collective defense.

Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence Beth Sanner suggested the trip’s purpose aligned with delivering a direct message.

“It could be to say: ‘We know what you are thinking about doing, and you better not,’” she told the Journal.

Analysts have drawn parallels to the November 2021 visit by then-CIA Director William Burns, who traveled to Moscow to warn Putin against attacking Ukraine—advice the Russian leader ignored months later.

President Donald Trump downplayed the significance of the visit in a radio interview, describing it as “sort of semi-routine” and denying it was tied to NATO warnings or Iran-related issues.

“Something may come out of it. We’re working very hard to get that war ended,” Trump said, referring to the conflict in Ukraine.

He added that both sides “want to see it ended.” The United States had reportedly asked Ukraine to pause strikes on Moscow and St. Petersburg during the visit to ensure the safe arrival and departure of the American plane.

US officials have pointed to depleted American munitions stockpiles—strained by support for Ukraine and recent conflict involving Iran—as a factor that could embolden Moscow.

Russian probing actions, including drone incursions and other hybrid tactics near NATO borders, have already heightened concerns in Europe.

Latvian officials later described Ratcliffe’s stopover as a “very good signal” of commitment to regional security.

Neither the White House nor the CIA has provided an official detailed account of the discussions.