CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly arrived in Moscow on an unannounced trip on Tuesday, according to US media.
CBS News reported that Ratcliffe was in the Russian capital, citing sources familiar with the situation, Euronews writes.
Neither Washington nor Moscow has confirmed Ratcliffe’s presence and it was not immediately clear who he was expected to meet with or what would be discussed.
News of the visit came after a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport earlier in the day.
Flight tracking data showed the plane had arrived in Moscow from Riga. It had landed in the Latvian capital on August 23 after departing from Camp Springs, Maryland, the location of Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
The unexplained flight initially sparked speculation that senior US officials could be traveling to Moscow, possibly including Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have repeatedly held talks with Russian officials.
The US diplomatic convoy was also seen traveling through the Russian capital after the plane landed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier Tuesday that he had no information about the US military plane and that no meetings with US administration representatives were planned in the Kremlin this week.
First visit in five years
The reported visit comes just a day after Ukraine marked its 35th Independence Day, with European leaders traveling to Kiev to demonstrate their support for the country that is being defended from Russia’s ongoing war.
No serving Trump administration officials attended Monday’s events. Neither Witkoff nor Kushner attended, despite earlier speculation that the anniversary could mark their first visit to Ukraine.
Neither envoy has traveled to Kiev since taking a leading role in the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts, despite repeated meetings with Russian officials and Witkoff’s eight visits to Moscow.