CIA chief John Ratcliffe secretly travelled to Russia aboard US mystery plane that landed in Moscow: Report

US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on Tuesday for meetings, US media reported, after a mysterious military flight landed in the Russian capital. According to the 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.

The purpose of the reported visit was not immediately clear, and there was no immediate comment from the CIA or the White House when contacted by AFP. However, CBS News quoted sources familiar with the matter as confirming Ratcliffe's trip, while Axios separately reported on the visit, quoting two US officials.

Ratcliffe is one of US President Donald Trump's most trusted advisers and has been closely involved in the Iran war. However, it remains unclear what issues he may be discussing with Russian leaders.

Earlier, online air traffic monitoring systems data had shown an American Boeing The aircraft, which took off from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, made a stop in Riga and then landed in the Russian capital, at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, at around 10 am Moscow time (0700 GMT).

The data showed the same plane leaving Moscow several hours later.

When asked earlier about the arrival of a US military plane in Moscow, the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did "not have such information".

The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III is a strategic military transport aircraft operated by the US Air Force and is designed to rapidly transport troops, vehicles, and other cargo over long distances.

The reported visit comes amid heightened tensions over the Ukraine war, as US-brokered efforts to end the nearly four-and-a-half-year conflict remain deadlocked.

According to UN data, civilian casualties in Ukraine reached their highest level since 2022 last month, while Kyiv has intensified retaliatory strikes deep inside Russian territory.

Meanwhile, the United States and Russia have reached an impasse over nuclear arms control, with their last remaining nuclear arms limitation treaty, New START, having expired in February.