---
title: "Zelensky and CIA Director Ratcliffe Hold Closed-Door Meeting at Irish Airport Ahead of UN Session"
description: "Volodymyr Zelensky met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe at Shannon Airport in Ireland while in transit to New York for the UN session. The parties have not disclosed the details of the conversation."
date: 2026-09-21T20:26:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/zelensky-meets-cia-director-ratcliffe-in-ireland
tags: [zelensky, cia, john-ratcliffe, ukraine, united-states, ireland, un-general-assembly]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Zelensky and CIA Director Ratcliffe Hold Closed-Door Meeting at Irish Airport Ahead of UN Session

![Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of a closed meeting with CIA Director Ratcliffe at an Ireland airport before the UN General Assembly](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/22/zelensky-vstretilsya-s-glavoy-tsru-v-irlandii/zelensky-vstretilsya-s-glavoy-tsru-v-irlandii-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Zelensky and CIA Director Ratcliffe met at Shannon Airport in Ireland while the planes were being refueled.
- The meeting took place as Zelensky was flying to New York for the UN session, while Ratcliffe was returning from a meeting with the Egyptian president.
- The sources do not disclose the content of the conversation; there is a discrepancy between the two sources on the dating of the event.
- The context of the meeting is Ratcliffe's recent unannounced visit to Moscow and the debate over the purpose of that trip.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, at Shannon Airport in Ireland. This was reported by Reuters, citing two sources. The meeting took place at a time when the head of the Ukrainian state was en route to New York to attend the annual gathering of world leaders as part of the United Nations General Assembly session. According to the outlet, both sources declined to disclose the content of the conversation, which in itself points to the closed and, likely, sensitive nature of the discussion.

### Circumstances of the meeting: transit and refueling

According to Reuters, the conversation took place during a layover between flights — while the planes carrying Zelensky and Ratcliffe were being refueled. According to one source, Ratcliffe was at that moment returning from a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Thus, the meeting in Shannon was not a scheduled summit but a brief working contact "on the way," which is typical for topics that the parties prefer to keep outside the official agenda and protocol.

### Contradictory data

The available information contains a discrepancy in the dating of the event. One source explicitly stated that the meeting took place on Monday, September 21. The second source confirmed the fact of the conversation during the refueling, but did not specify the exact date. As a result, the precise day of the meeting in the public domain is recorded only according to one source's version, and the editors openly note this discrepancy: the fact of the meeting is confirmed, while its exact date is only partially so.

### Context: Ratcliffe's recent visit to Moscow

The meeting in Ireland comes against the backdrop of recent events on the Russian front. On August 25, CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on an unannounced visit, where, according to reports, he held a series of meetings. The Kremlin claimed that there was no personal meeting with Vladimir Putin and characterized the trip as "establishing contacts between security services." Later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the trip was largely routine and that maintaining communication channels between U.S. and Russian intelligence is critically important for preventing escalation amid large-scale crises and conflicts.

### Alternative versions of the purpose of the Moscow trip

In addition to the official "routine" interpretation, other versions appeared in the media. The New York Times wrote that Ratcliffe visited Moscow to personally convey to Moscow what the outlet assessed as a "somber" assessment of the state of Russia's war against Ukraine and to persuade the Russian side to strike a deal before the agreement deteriorated. The press also carried versions that the U.S. had intelligence on Russia's early preparations for mobilization and on plans to "test" NATO's resolve, and that the visit in this context served as a warning to Moscow not to take such a step. None of these versions has been officially confirmed.

### What is known about the content of the conversation in Shannon

Neither of Reuters' sources disclosed what exactly Zelensky and Ratcliffe discussed during the transit in Ireland. Given the closed format, the proximity to the UN session, and the recent history of U.S. intelligence contacts with Moscow, it is logical to assume that the discussion concerned coordination on the Ukrainian front and communication channels; however, the editors do not take this beyond the bounds of confirmed facts. No official statements from Kyiv or Washington with details of the conversation had been published as of the time of preparing this material.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Zelensky met with CIA Director Ratcliffe at Irish airport, - Reuters](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/zelenskiy-zustrivsya-golovoyu-tsru-retkliffom-1790022127.html) - Подтверждает факт встречи в аэропорту Шеннон, транзит в Нью-Йорк на сессию ООН и возвращение Рэтклиффа со встречи с ас-Сиси.
- [Zelensky held secret meeting with CIA Director Ratcliffe in Ireland – Reuters](https://www.dialog.ua/world/zelenskiy-provel-taynuyu-vstrechu-s-glavoy-tsru-retkliffom-v-irlandii.html) - Подтверждает закрытый характер встречи и источник Reuters.
- [Secret meeting at an Irish airfield: what Zelensky personally discussed with the CIA Director](https://society.comments.ua/news/developments/taynaya-vstrecha-na-irlandskom-aerodrome-o-chem-zelenskiy-lichno-pogovoril-s-glavoy-cru-816747.html) - Передает контекст, но содержание разговора в источниках не раскрыто; датировка частично расходится.
- [Reuters: CIA Director and Zelensky held meeting in Ireland](https://news.mail.ru/politics/72446207/) - Подтверждает факт встречи по данным Reuters.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Where did the meeting between Zelensky and Ratcliffe take place?
**A:** At Shannon Airport in Ireland, during the refueling of the planes in the layover between flights.

### Q: When, according to the sources, did the meeting take place?
**A:** One source points to Monday, September 21; the second source confirms the fact of the conversation but does not specify the date.

### Q: What is known about the content of the conversation?
**A:** Both sources declined to disclose the details of the discussion, and no official statements with details have been published.

### Q: Where was Zelensky flying to and where was Ratcliffe returning from?
**A:** Zelensky was heading to New York for the UN General Assembly session, while Ratcliffe, according to a source, was returning from a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.