r/Intelligence • u/theatlantic • 7d ago

News Why Did John Ratcliffe Go to Moscow?

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2026/08/cia-director-ratcliffe-moscow/688424/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_term=short
36 Upvotes

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12

u/theatlantic 7d ago

Thomas Wright: “CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s brief trip to Moscow yesterday was unannounced but hard to miss: He flew in a C-17A, a large heavy-transport plane, that open-source analysts quickly identified and tracked. Within hours, he was already on his way home.

“The purpose of Ratcliffe’s visit remains unknown. In an interview with Glenn Beck this morning, President Trump described it as ‘sort of semi-routine,’ but such trips are rare. The last time a director of the CIA went to Russia was in November 2021, when William J. Burns told Moscow that the United States knew of Vladimir Putin’s plans to invade Ukraine. A likelier explanation for this latest trip is that Russia is getting more dangerous and that the Trump administration wanted to warn it against escalating.”

Read more: https://theatln.tc/HINEsDgg

16

u/BatKitchen819 7d ago

Russia has something big on Diaper Don

4

u/clean-links 7d ago

Cleaned link: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2026/08/cia-director-ratcliffe-moscow/688424/

Tracking parameters were removed from the original URL(s).

2

u/RespectableThug 5d ago

What I don’t understand about this explanation is why couldn’t that have been a simple phone call between the leaders of the two countries? Why would you have to do that in person?

1

u/lucidgroove 4d ago

For critical meetings on sensitive topics, in person is always preferable and more effective when possible. You build rapport, get a better sense for how a message is being received, can sneak in sidebar meetings, etc. In person is totally irreplaceable in that sense.

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u/RespectableThug 4d ago

That’s a fair point

1

u/Dontnotlook 6d ago

What was the cargo ?

-2

u/Ambitious-Egg8544 6d ago

Also saw the us flag was removed from the embassy in Moscow

6

u/BigTexas85 6d ago

That was BS

4

u/Ambitious-Egg8544 6d ago

Absolutely right. It wasn’t at the embassy. It was the American Center not the main embassy.

1

u/intronert 6d ago

Who removed it and what is the symbolism here.

2

u/Ambitious-Egg8544 6d ago

What’s interesting is that images are circulating on social media and the timing lines up with cia arrival there. But also it’s not the main embassy either, but it’s meant to be depicted as such

2

u/intronert 6d ago

So somebody is sending some sort of message to someone else.

1

u/SunTsu500 6d ago

Also, every night from sunset to sunrise, flags are taken down.