US CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Russia to attend meetings in Moscow on Tuesday, according to US media reports. US news outlet CBS, which first reported on the story, said it appeared to be Ratcliffe's first known trip to Russia as CIA chief. Earlier, a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane was spotted at a Moscow airport, along with an American diplomatic motorcade, the outlet noted. Neither Washington nor Moscow have commented on the identity of the American official in Russia or the purpose of the visit. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday that there are no plans for talks between US and Russian envoys, according to a report from Al Jazeera. Reuters, citing data from flight tracking service Flightradar24, reported that the plane believed to be carrying Ratcliffe later departed Moscow. It is unclear if the US official was onboard the aircraft. The news agency, citing a source familiar with the matter, added that Washington last week asked Ukraine not to launch strikes around certain areas of Russia – including Moscow and St. Petersburg – from Monday to Wednesday this week due to a visit by a US official. Peace talks stalled US-led talks aiming to find a way of ending the war between Russia and Ukraine collapsed earlier this year as Kyiv refused Moscow’s demands to cede more territory and as Washington grew preoccupied with the conflict with Iran. President Donald Trump’s negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were last in Moscow in January. Trump – who has long said that one of the key goals of his presidency is to find a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine – claimed in January that a peace deal was “reasonably close.” Fighting rages on The fighting has continued unabated since then, however, with Ukraine stepping up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent months in an attempt to blunt Moscow’s capacity to wage war, while also targeting logistics facilities. Amid a flurry of US-mediated diplomatic efforts to reach a peace deal last year, Trump became increasingly frustrated with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as both sides refused to budge on key issues regarding territorial control and security. Washington also prompted concern among Ukraine’s European allies after attempts to pressure Kyiv into accepting a peace proposal drawn up last summer that was seen by many as favorable to Moscow.
