Frozen copy retrieved 2026-08-26T04:56:32.047Z for audit 2026-08-26T06-48-52Z. Original URL: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/4699583/cia-director-john-ratcliffe-moscow-aboard-c17-high-level-discussions/. The Stochastic Parrot does not host or redistribute; this snapshot exists solely so that quoted spans remain verifiable if the original page changes. Character offsets below index into this plain text; highlighted spans are the quotes cited in the audit.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe took trip to Moscow aboard C-17

Washington Examiner · back to the audit

CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly visited Moscow aboard a not-so-secret C-17 Globemaster to engage in high-level discussions with Russian officials. His visit was reported by CBS News and was cited by Russian state media, including TASS. U.S. and Russian officials both declined to comment or claimed ignorance. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he wasn't aware of any visit or meetings. If confirmed, it would be Ratcliffe's first known visit to Russia. The use of the U.S.'s largest aircraft to visit Moscow stirred widespread speculation. The flight was viewed by both air traffic monitors and filmed by locals. In one of the most widely circulated videos on social media, a local was heard joking, "We are under attack!"