A U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster, tail number 07-7181, touched down at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport around 9 a.m. Polish time, according to Flightradar24. The plane had departed Camp Springs, a military base outside Washington, on Aug. 23, stopping in Riga, Latvia, before continuing on to Moscow. It departed again a short time later, flight-tracking data showed.
CBS News reported Ratcliffe was aboard, though the purpose of his visit was not disclosed. Axios reported that U.S. officials had told Kyiv in advance that a senior delegation was headed to Moscow and asked Ukraine to hold off on striking the city while the visit took place.
The CIA has previously played a central role in negotiating prisoner swaps with Moscow, including securing the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, CBS noted. Ratcliffe's predecessor, Bill Burns, also traveled to Russia before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in an unsuccessful bid to dissuade Putin from attacking.
Tuesday's flight marked the first direct trip by a U.S.-registered aircraft from Europe to Russia since January, when envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner flew to Moscow for talks with Putin on ending the war, Reuters reported.
The Kremlin said last week it had no word of a follow-up visit by Witkoff and Kushner. Separately, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported the two envoys had planned to visit Kyiv but postponed the trip amid a surge in Russian bombardment of Ukraine.
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Source: Polish Radio, PAP