CIA Director John Ratcliffe has arrived in Moscow, the American television network CBS reports. Ratcliffe's plane landed at Vnukovo Airport.
Today, RBC journalists spotted an unusual flight by a U.S. Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft from Riga to the Russian capital.
According to Flightradar24, the U.S. Air Force aircraft first flew from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington to Latvia, and continued on to Russia today. The flight-tracking service showed it approaching Moscow's Vnukovo Airport.
The purpose of the visit has not yet been officially disclosed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information about the aircraft. Washington has also yet to issue any official comments regarding Ratcliffe's visit.
According to U.S. intelligence, Russia is allegedly preparing a new mobilization, to test NATO's readiness for escalation. The CIA director traveled to Moscow to warn Putin against doing so, the publication reports.
Earlier, however, Putin's press secretary told reporters:
“You know, all of this is being planted by the Ukrainian authorities. Naturally, the regime is trying to stir up the situation in our country ideologically. These are all information leaks deliberately injected into the information space”, — he said.
The President of Ukraine previously warned that Russia could announce a new mobilization after this fall's State Duma elections. Zelensky believes Moscow could mobilize up to 500,000 new troops. Latvian intelligence also predicts that the likelihood of mobilization will increase at that point. Sources at the independent Russian outlets Meduza, Important Stories, and Verstka also claim that Russian officials are beginning to discuss a new mobilization because the number of people willing to serve in Russia's armed forces is declining.
Related: Conscription and Mobilization in Moscow: How Men Can Prepare for Fall 2026
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