CIA Director Ratcliffe Makes Surprise Moscow Visit

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a surprise trip to Moscow this week, the first visit by a CIA chief since 2021, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the report, the trip aimed to warn Russia against testing NATO, amid U.S. intelligence concerns that Vladimir Putin could probe the alliance through cyberattacks, sabotage, or a limited incursion, possibly in the Baltics. Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials but not Putin directly, who was briefed afterward. President Trump downplayed the visit, calling it "semi-routine" and denying it involved warnings over NATO or Iran sanctions. Trump said his administration remains focused on brokering an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, distancing himself from the Journal's characterization of the trip's purpose.