CIA Director John Ratcliffe attends a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 27, 2026. <\/p>\n
Kent Nishimura | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe made a surprise trip to Moscow this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO<\/a>, according to multiple media reports, amid growing fears of further escalation in the Ukraine war<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ratcliffe’s first publicly known visit to the Russian capital as CIA chief came to light on Tuesday, when a U.S. Air Force jet was spotted arriving at a Moscow airport, and footage of a diplomatic motorcade moving through the city emerged on social media. <\/p>\n The purpose of Ratcliffe’s trip to the Russian capital was first reported Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, citing unnamed sources briefed on the trip.<\/p>\n Politico<\/a> and CBS News<\/a> separately reported the same motive, citing multiple people familiar with the matter. CBS News added that Ratcliffe also brought up Iran, warning of additional sanctions if the strategically vital<\/a> Strait of Hormuz does not reopen to shipping traffic. <\/p>\n The Trump administration has threatened Iran’s trading partners with so-called secondary sanctions<\/a> as it seeks to ratchet up the pressure on Tehran’s economy following six months of war between the U.S., Israel and Iran.<\/p>\n China, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey are known<\/a> to be among Iran’s top trading partners, while Russia has long shared close economic and military ties with Tehran. <\/p>\n Spokespeople for the CIA and the Russian Embassy in London were not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC. <\/p>\n Read more of CNBC’s Russia-Ukraine coverage:<\/p>\n Russia and Ukraine have exchanged<\/a> an intensifying series of drone and missile strikes far beyond the front lines in recent weeks, amplifying fears of further escalation in the conflict. <\/p>\n Alongside analysts and external observers warning<\/a> that Russia’s full-scale invasion could soon enter a more dangerous phase, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said<\/a> that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to escalate the war. <\/p>\n In comments posted<\/a> on X earlier this month, Zelenskyy called on the country’s partners to ramp up sanctions pressure on Moscow and provide Kyiv with further air defense support. <\/p>\n Russian forces have increased<\/a> the number of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, likely as part of a push to exploit Kyiv’s shortage of ballistic missile interceptors. <\/p>\n Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on international partners to expedite the supply of ballistic missile interceptors to Ukraine, saying<\/a>\u00a0the technology could have saved the lives of those killed in Kyiv on Aug. 5.<\/p>\n