CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s secret trip to Moscow involved telling one of Vladimir Putin’s top officials that Russia needs to end the war in Ukraine before its economic situation worsens, according to a report.
Ratcliffe met with Aleksandr Bortnikov, director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), to deliver a warning that Russia’s military and economic situation will only get worse unless it negotiates a peace deal with Ukraine to end the four-and-a-half-year conflict, sources told The New York Times.
CIA analysts fear that Putin’s advisers are not providing the Russian leader with frank updates about how the invasion is going, as Ukraine continues to bombard the country with wave after wave of drone attacks.
Some officials believe that having Ratcliffe deliver the bleak message himself would lead the Russian president to take the warning more seriously than if it were delivered through normal diplomatic channels, according to the Times.
For years, Trump and his advisers believed that a Russian victory over Ukraine was inevitable. The Trump administration has also scaled back the amount of military aid it has sent to Ukraine as the war drags on.
However, Kyiv has changed tactics, fighting back with long-range drone strikes targeting Russia’s economy and fuel supplies that have put Moscow on the back foot. This includes repeated attacks on major Russian oil refineries, which are used to fund Moscow’s war efforts.
Ukraine has also targeted warehouses and facilities belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, which is often described as the country’s equivalent of Amazon.
Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow this week came after the CIA director suggested that Ukraine was getting the upper hand in the conflict because of its use of drones. Speaking to the Times in June, Ratcliffe said that the life expectancy of a Russian soldier on the front line in Ukraine was less than 35 minutes.
“Much of the reason is technology and how drones have become super-efficient, low-cost killing machines,” Ratcliffe said.
Ratcliffe also noted that Russia had gained only about 1 percent of Ukrainian territory since he became CIA director 18 months ago, while simultaneously suffering major losses on the battlefield.
It was previously reported that Ratcliffe’s trip on Tuesday was to warn Russia not to launch an unprovoked attack on NATO countries. It is feared that Putin could lash out and test the resolve of the military alliance by launching an attack ranging from a cyberattack to an incursion into a neighboring country.
Any scenario in which Putin attacks a member of the military alliance could have devastating consequences around the world. Under NATO’s Article 5, an attack against one NATO country is considered an attack against all 32 allied members, including the U.S.
On Thursday, The Washington Post also reported that the Kremlin considers the U.S. significantly weaker because of the Iran war and dwindling weapons stockpiles. It is feared that Putin could use this as an excuse to provoke U.S. allies in Europe, believing that any response would be severely hindered.
A source told the Post that Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow was “less about Putin being in a corner” and more because Russia believes “we are depleted and can’t intervene.”
Trump, who has downplayed the significance of Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow, said he is not concerned that Putin will attack a NATO country.
“There is no problem,” Trump told Axios on Thursday. “Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six months or once every year. They have a very good relationship. There was no message, and there was nothing unusual.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the CIA for comment.
