The idea of a dying Ukraine is not part of the popular press. But there is growing evidence Ukraine cannot continue the war much longer.
The CIA Director departed from Joint Base Andrews in a C-17A Globemaster under the control of the 89th Airlift Wing located at the base. The flight started out in Charleston and departed Andrews on August 23rd. The exact time of departure was not announced. If it was heading straight to Moscow from Andrews the flight time would be between 9.5 and 10.5 hours. However, the plane landed in Riga, Latvia at Riga International Airport, which is about 525 miles from Moscow. Apparently it landed on August 24th and stayed overnight in Riga, departing for Moscow the next morning. The C-17 then flew to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport where Ratcliffe arrived at the VIP area. US Embassy supplied vehicles picked him up on the tarmac and his caravan was later observed transiting in Moscow. There is no word that any Russian official greeted Ratcliffe.
The C-17 used by Ratcliffe was specially equipped with a Roll On Conference Module (ROCC) that offers secure working space and sleep accommodations.
Even after Ratcliffe’s C-17 arrived at Vnukovo, the Kremlin seemed unaware of the visit, including Putin’s own office. In fact, the visit was only acknowledged after Ratcliffe left Moscow. Then the Kremlin said that Ratcliffe met with the Russian intelligence service, but not with Putin.
There are a few matters that deserve attention.
The first is that the US asked Zelensky to halt all drone operations over Russian territory for a few days, in order to clear the airspace over Russia. Had the drone strikes not been halted, the C-17 would not have flown into Moscow. The Russians also had to tell their air defense operators about the C-17 and not to shoot at it.
Ratcliffe’s departure to Moscow took place before his visit to Moscow was cleared by the Russians. The Ratcliffe trip was very urgent and Ratcliffe was aiming at a very high level meeting. It can also be supposed he wanted to see Putin.
It would seem that the decision for the C-17 to stop in Riga was an enroute choice because the Moscow authorities had not cleared either the aircraft arrival or the visit itself.
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Ratcliffe flew to Moscow to warn Russia – media
CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Moscow on August 25 to warn the Russian side against attacks on NATO countries, Politico reported,citing informed sources.
According to them, Ratcliffe allegedly warned Russia against escalating the conflict with US allies in the North Atlantic Alliance, specifically Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Furthermore, the CIA chief discussed support for Iran with the Russian side, attempting to exert "political pressure" on Moscow on this issue.
Ratcliffe himself declined to comment to the publication on this matter.
Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on August 25 aboard an American Boeing C-17. Foreign media reported that the CIA chief intended to hold meetings. Details of his visit were not disclosed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later stated that the contacts occurred through intelligence agencies. Ratcliffe had no contact with President Vladimir Putin, but the head of state was promptly informed.
On August 27, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, confirmed the meeting with Ratcliffe and described it as a working format. He clarified that during the meeting, they discussed a number of issues within the purview of intelligence services.
So.. a nothingburger
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