Putin’s reaction following Ratcliffe’s visit

The man who set foot in Russia two days ago, travelling right into the centre of the capital to meet with the heads of Moscow’s intelligence agencies, is the same man who is advising the Ukrainians on what to target on Russian territory. With this aura about him, John Ratcliffe landed at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow on Tuesday, arriving on board a military aircraft to meet his counterparts and, perhaps, as he had hoped, even the Kremlin’s leader, Vladimir Putin. Every Ukrainian strike launched into Russia corresponds to a tip-off from the CIA, the agency that Ratcliffe heads, and it is no secret to the Russians that it is the Americans who are advising the Ukrainians on the locations of missile launchers, air defence systems and other targets that Kyiv’s campaign of attacks is striking. Donald Trump trusts Ratcliffe, even though he is not behaving as the US president had expected. 

In the book "Regime Change", journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan recount that the White House chief chose Ratcliffe for two reasons: he was convinced that Ratcliffe would destroy the CIA, yet instead he is keeping it in place and preserving it, providing continuity with the past and with its missions. The second reason is aesthetic: "This man looks like Cary Grant," said Trump. “He looks as if he’s stepped straight out of an audition. If I had to choose an actor to play the CIA director, I’d choose him.” Ratcliffe plays the role of CIA director well, though not quite according to the script written by Trump, who yesterday, in a strangely restrained manner, confirmed his visit to Russia, limiting himself to saying: “Something might come of it; we’re working hard to bring that war to an end” in Ukraine. He then added that the visit was ‘almost routine’, refuting the notion that the trip’s agenda had centred on provocations against NATO, or fears of an imminent attack on the United Kingdom – of which London now seems certain – or cooperation on sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. “I’m sorry to disappoint people,” said the White House chief. But when the CIA director goes to Moscow, it is not a routine matter, but rather a move dictated by exceptional circumstances.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov holds daily press briefings and, when asked on Tuesday whether he had any information about the American aircraft that had just landed at Vnukovo, he replied – falsely – that he knew nothing about it. Yesterday, however, he confirmed Ratcliffe’s visit, mentioning meetings with the heads of the intelligence agencies, but not with Vladimir Putin, and he did not provide any details on the topics discussed. Putin had not granted an audience to Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, when he arrived in Moscow in 2021, and although he may have considered meeting Ratcliffe – as suggested by the fact that he had suddenly cancelled some of his engagements for the day – it is not surprising that he ultimately decided not to attend. Russian newspapers, like their American counterparts, say little about the meeting, but there is one detail that "Komsomolskaya Pravda" – a propaganda newspaper reputed to be among Putin’s reading material – is keen to emphasise: a CIA director is not a negotiator; he does not undertake a trip for the purpose of negotiations, but arrives when there is nothing left to negotiate. The duration of Ratcliffe’s visit – around four hours – is indicative of one thing: too short for complex talks, but just long enough to deliver a message. The CIA chief is also acting for other reasons, but Komsomolskaya Pravda’s summary suggests the Russians’ perception of the visit and the reaction of officials in Moscow who found themselves face to face with the man who provided the coordinates for the attacks on Kyiv.

The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, was the first head of state from a Western country to state, without beating about the bush or mincing his words, that he had been informed in advance of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow. “We were aware of the meeting,” said Nauseda, emphasising that “our partners” will share more specific information with Vilnius “probably next week”. Ratcliffe stopped off in Latvia before travelling to Moscow; Latvia is one of the countries most exposed to Russian provocations and also to Ukrainian drones that Russia hijacks to heighten the sense of insecurity and fuel political chaos: there have been resignations and changes of government. In recent weeks, reports in American newspapers have spoken of an increased risk to the Baltic states of sabotage carried out by the Russians but under a false flag, and Riga is feeling the pressure. Yesterday, Latvia said it viewed the CIA director’s visit as good news. Trump has hinted that the meeting was about Ukraine, but so far it has always been Putin himself who has received American mediators, when it was Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner who appeared before him bearing messages from Washington. Only Putin makes decisions on the course of the war, and so far everything suggests he has no intention of negotiating. Indeed, according to Bloomberg, he regards the negotiations as having reached a deadlock and is mobilising all available forces to intensify the ferocity of his invasion.