---
title: "CIA Director Secretly Arrives in Moscow: US Asks Ukraine to Pause Strikes During Visit — Axios"
description: "CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly arrived in Moscow on a US C-17A aircraft. According to Axios and CBS, Washington asked Kyiv to temporarily pause strikes on the Russian capital during the visit."
date: 2026-08-25T15:01:55.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/cia-director-secretly-arrives-in-moscow-us-asks-ukraine-to-pause-strikes
tags: [cia, john-ratcliffe, moscow, ukraine, us-russia, drone-strikes, diplomacy]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# CIA Director Secretly Arrives in Moscow: US Asks Ukraine to Pause Strikes During Visit — Axios

![CIA Director William Burns in a blue suit with a US flag pin on his lapel during a secret visit to Moscow](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/25/direktor-tsru-tayno-priletel-v-moskvu-ssha-poprosili-ukrainu-pauza-v-udarah/direktor-tsru-tayno-priletel-v-moskvu-ssha-poprosili-ukrainu-pauza-v-udarah-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly arrived in Moscow on August 25, 2026, on a US Air Force C-17A aircraft (tail number RCH4555) from Riga; the arrival is confirmed by Flightradar24, Axios, and CBS News.
- According to Axios and CBS, Washington, through closed channels, asked Kyiv to temporarily suspend drone and long-range weapons strikes on Moscow and its surroundings during the visit.
- This is the first visit by the CIA chief to Russia since November 2021 and the highest-level contact by the Trump administration in Moscow in recent times.
- The Kremlin is not officially commenting on the visit: Peskov stated that the Kremlin 'has no information' about the arrival of the special aircraft.

On the morning of August 25, 2026, a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft (tail number RCH4555) landed at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, arriving from Riga. A US embassy motorcade was spotted at the aircraft. According to reporting by Axios journalist Barak Ravid and CBS News's Jennifer Jacobs, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, was on board. The arrival of the CIA chief has been confirmed by objective air traffic monitoring, including data from the Flightradar24 service, and marks the highest-level contact by representatives of the Donald Trump administration in the Russian capital in recent times.

### Secret Arrival: What Objective Data Confirms

The visit is of an exclusively closed, intelligence-related nature. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin press service has officially commented on the format or agenda of the trip. Through closed communication channels the day before the delegation's departure, Washington notified Kyiv of the dispatch of a high-level mission to Moscow and made a confidential request — to temporarily suspend drone and long-range weapons strikes on targets in Moscow and its surroundings until the US delegation departs. As Axios sources note, such a measure is necessary to guarantee the physical safety of the head of a key US intelligence agency and to prevent the collapse of the urgently arranged consultations.

### Why Washington Asked Kyiv for a 'Silence Mode'

Analysts and subject-matter experts highlight several factors behind the White House's request. First, on the eve of the visit, Ukrainian drones carried out a massive coordinated attack on major logistics complexes in Russia's southern regions, which Washington interpreted as a signal of possible escalation: the US administration feared that the next large-scale target could be Moscow itself. Second, any drone strike on the capital while a US government aircraft or a CIA motorcade was present would have immediately derailed the negotiations, triggered the closure of the capital's air hub under the so-called 'Cover Plan,' and effectively stranded the US special aircraft on the runway. Third, according to sources, Ratcliffe brought to Moscow not public ultimatums but specific technical conditions and the outlines of a future negotiation track on freezing the front line, coordinated with Trump, as well as up-to-date lists for the next phase of prisoner exchanges. Any military force majeure in the skies over Moscow would have wiped out the entire secret round of consultations.

### Contradictory Data

It is important to honestly record the discrepancy between versions here. On the one hand, the arrival of the C-17A aircraft at Vnukovo on August 25 is confirmed by independent air traffic monitoring and by two leading US publications (Axios, CBS News). On the other hand, Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that the Kremlin 'has no information' about the arrival of the special aircraft, which underscores the closed nature of the visit and prevents public verification of its official agenda. Moreover, some foreign media outlets present the news with a caveat about a 'nuance': this is not a formal ultimatum but a diplomatic request, transmitted through closed channels. Thus, the fact of the visit and the request to Kyiv are confirmed by several independent sources, while the details of the negotiations remain a matter of insider information and have not been officially confirmed by either side.

### Historical Context and Significance

Ratcliffe's trip is the first visit by a CIA director to Russia since November 2021, when William Burns flew to the Russian capital. Given the ongoing conflict and the earlier permissions granted by Washington for Ukraine to use long-range weapons deep inside Russian territory, such contact at the level of the head of a key US intelligence agency is perceived as an attempt to preserve a closed diplomatic and intelligence track. The outcomes of the visit and whether the 'silence mode' over Moscow will be maintained after the delegation's departure will become key indicators of how stable the secret negotiation channel between Washington and Moscow will prove to be.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [US Urges Ukraine Not to Attack Moscow, but with a Nuance – Media](https://cursorinfo.co.il/world-news/ssha-prizvali-ukrainu-ne-atakovat-moskvu-no-s-nyuansom-smi/) - Подтверждает суть просьбы Вашингтона к Киеву приостановить удары по Москве на время визита, с оговоркой о дипломатическом (не ультимативном) характере запроса.
- [CIA Director John Ratcliffe Arrives in Russia](https://zerkalo.az/direktor-tsru-dzhon-retkliff-priletel-v-rossiyu/) - Подтверждает факт прибытия директора ЦРУ Джона Рэтклиффа в Россию, согласуется с данными о прилете борта C-17A во Внуково 25.08.2026.
- [WSJ: Ukraine's Strikes on Iranian Vessels Bring Kyiv and Tehran Closer to Direct Confrontation](https://news.mail.ru/politics/71792425/) - Подтверждено по источнику news.mail.ru
- [US Allows Ukraine to Strike Deep Inside Russian Territory with ATACMS Missiles — Reactions](https://www.rfi.fr/ru/%D0%B2-%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B5/20241118-%D1%81%D1%88%D0%B0-%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8B-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D1%80%D1%84-%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8-atacms-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8) - Контекстный источник: подтверждает, что Вашингтон ранее разрешил Украине применение дальнобойного вооружения вглубь РФ, что объясняет логику просьбы о «режиме тишины» над Москвой.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Who arrived in Moscow on August 25, 2026?
**A:** According to Axios and CBS News, CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on a US Air Force C-17A aircraft. The arrival is confirmed by air traffic monitoring (Flightradar24).

### Q: What did the US ask Ukraine to do?
**A:** Through closed channels, Washington asked Kyiv to temporarily suspend drone and long-range weapons strikes on Moscow and its surroundings during the visit, in order to ensure the safety of US officials.

### Q: Is this the first visit by the CIA chief to Russia?
**A:** Yes, this is the first visit by the CIA director to Russia since November 2021, when William Burns came to Moscow, and the highest-level contact by the Trump administration in Moscow in recent times.

### Q: How did the Kremlin react?
**A:** Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that the Kremlin 'has no information' about the arrival of the special aircraft; neither the Kremlin nor the White House is officially commenting on the format and agenda of the visit.