CIA Director Visits Moscow Amid Mysterious Military Flight
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WASHINGTON — CIA Director John Ratcliffe is visiting Moscow Tuesday, according to reports — after a mysterious military flight landed in the Russian capital.
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The Guardian USThe CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has made an unannounced visit to Moscow, US media reported, after flight data showed an American military aircraft flew to the Russian capital, where a US diplomatic motorcade was later spotted.
The HillCIA Director makes unannounced visit to Russia CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, CBS News reported.  Flight-trackers spotted a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane flying from Riga, Latvia to Moscow on Tuesday.  The CIA and the White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for…
BBC NewsJohn Ratcliffe reportedly arrived in the Russian capital earlier on Tuesday. Neither Washington or Moscow have confirmed the nature of the visit or who he was due to meet.
ABC NewsThe CIA, Department of Defense and Air Force declined to comment. CIA Director John Ratcliffe is in Moscow, Russia, for meetings, according to multiple officials familiar with the meetings.
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A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III flew from the capital of NATO-member Latvia to an airport near Moscow, Russia on Tuesday morning. The military jet first flew on Sunday from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington D.C., reports France’s Le Figaro, citing the open source transponder data which is collected by hobbyist ground-based receivers and aggregated through services such as the Flight Radar app.
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NBC NewsData from FlightRadar24 tracking site showed that a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III approached Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow just after 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) after taking off from Riga, the capital of Latvia, two hours earlier.
BBC NewsFootage posted on social media showed the C-17 transport plane approaching Moscow's Vnukovo international airport.
ABC NewsTracking data published by the Flightradar24 website showed that a U.S. military Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, flight number RCH4555, departed from the Latvian capital Riga on Tuesday morning.
The Guardian USThere was no immediate comment from the CIA or the White House. Data from Flightradar24 showed a US military C-17 travelling from the US to Latvia and then on to Moscow. The tracker showed that the flight originated from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, best known for hosting Air Force One.
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The C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft, which the U.S. Air Force website says can be used for strategic and tactical airlift and airdrop missions, as well as aeromedical evacuations.
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The Guardian USThe C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that the US air force website says can be used for strategic and tactical airlift and airdrop missions as well as aeromedical evacuations.
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The CIA was also involved in a 2024 prisoner swap deal with Russia that saw the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, as well as former US marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
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The Guardian USThe reason for the visit is unclear but the CIA has mediated in recent US-Russia detainee exchanges and was involved in the 2024 prisoner exchange that secured the release of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and the marine veteran Paul Whelan.
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Mystery swirled around a U.S. military transport aircraft that on Tuesday landed in Moscow, according to tracking data.
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BreitbartA U.S. military heavy lift aircraft which flew into Moscow with its transponder on, allowing open-source tracking software to follow its progress, gained attention given the rarity of direct U.S. flights to Russia during the present period of strained diplomatic ties.
7 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post Ratcliffe arrived aboard a C-17 transport plane that departed Joint Base Andrews, a base outside Washington used for high-ranking official travel.
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02 The Guardian US The Financial Times reported that the Trump administration had asked Kyiv to pause its long-range strikes on major Russian cities during the course of the visit.
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03 NBC News It was not known who was on board the plane and why it was in Russia. When asked, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not have information about the aircraft.
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04 ABC News A Boeing C-17A Globemaster III was seen at the Moscow airport. The CIA, Department of Defense and the Air Force declined to comment.
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05 BBC News Published The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has travelled to Moscow for unannounced talks, the BBC's US news partner CBS has reported.
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06 Breitbart Military flights are not obliged to keep their transponders on, but it is best practice to do so for the sake of other flights in the area and air traffic control for the sake of safety. The decision to keep the transponders broadcasting over Russian airspace betrays a desire to make the flight as visible and easily identifiable as possible.
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07 Reuters US spy chief visits Russia for meetings, media reports - Reuters US spy chief visits Russia for meetings, media reports Reuters
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Sources (8)
- abc
- nypost
- breitbart
- thehill
- nbc
- guardian
- bbc
- reuters