Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has already been briefed on the results of the visit by Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe to Moscow. According to Peskov, the CIA chief held meetings with representatives of Russian intelligence services, though he did not name the specific agencies. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the Telegram channel "Vy Slushali" (You Were Listening). The statement came against the backdrop of a secret landing of a U.S. military aircraft in the Russian capital on August 25, which became one of the most discussed diplomatic episodes of the week.

What Peskov said about contacts with the CIA

Commenting on the nature of the talks, Dmitry Peskov emphasized that "there were no meetings with the President of Russia" and added: "That is all I can say on this matter." At the same time, he assured that Putin is immediately briefed on all details of the contacts with Ratcliffe. The Kremlin spokesperson called the dialogue at the intelligence level a "positive development" and noted that such contact is maintained even during difficult periods in bilateral relations. At the same time, he declined to disclose the main topics of the negotiations and warned that it is too early to talk about the impact of these contacts on bringing the relationship out of a "deep crisis."

Secret landing and the Boeing C-17 in Moscow

According to RBC-Ukraine, on August 25 a U.S. military aircraft, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, landed in Moscow, and on the same day it became known that CIA Director John Ratcliffe had arrived in the Russian capital. The publication's source reported that the United States asked Ukraine to refrain from strikes on the Russian capital in the coming days in connection with the visit of a high-level U.S. delegation. It was precisely this episode — the closed nature of the flight and the request for a temporary "truce" — that became the main reason for speculation about the true purpose of the trip.

Theories: mobilization, NATO, and Iran

The visit by the CIA chief, according to experts, may be linked to the fact that the U.S. obtained intelligence data on Russia's early preparations for mobilization and plans to "test NATO's resolve." Political scientist Vladimir Fesenko, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine, explained why Ratcliffe might have secretly flown to Moscow, pointing to the signal nature of such a trip. International media expand the picture: in the context of discussing the CIA Director's mission in Moscow, the topics of Ukraine, NATO, and Iran were raised, and U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly called the visit "something of a routine," stating that the United States is striving to end the war.

Contradictory data

There is a notable spread of assessments in the public statements of the parties involved. The Kremlin consistently downplays the significance of the trip: Peskov did not confirm a meeting with Putin, did not name the topics or the agencies, and limited himself to the formula of a "positive development." Against this backdrop, analysts and Western media, conversely, attach great political weight to the visit, linking it to intelligence on mobilization, a test of NATO's resolve, and negotiations on ending the conflict. A separate contradiction lies in the assessment of scale: Trump publicly downplays the trip as "routine," while the very fact of a secret flight on a military aircraft and the request to Ukraine not to strike Moscow point to the opposite. The topics of the negotiations remain officially undisclosed, so all theories about the content of the dialogue are currently speculative.

Expectations and context

At this point, the only officially confirmed fact is the contacts between Ratcliffe and Russian intelligence services and the absence of a meeting at the presidential level. Peskov directly called it premature to assess how exactly these contacts will affect the dynamics of Russian-American relations and the course of the war. Observers are left to watch whether additional statements from Washington or Moscow will appear in the coming days that could confirm or refute the theories about mobilization preparations and the "testing" of NATO.