American journalist Michael Weiss suggested that CIA Director John Ratcliffe may have arrived in Moscow to warn the Russian leadership that further escalation against European countries and NATO is unacceptable. Weiss wrote this on the social media platform X, UNN reports.
According to Weiss, the possible visit by the CIA chief may be linked to U.S. intelligence information that Washington shared with Poland, the Baltic states, and Scandinavia.
"If I had to place a bet, I would say that Ratcliffe is in Moscow to warn about Russian escalation against Europe/NATO," Weiss wrote.
The journalist drew attention to a noticeable increase in the number of suspected sabotage operations linked to Russia's GRU, as well as activity by Russian drones in Europe. He mentioned Germany, Bulgaria, and Romania among the countries where similar incidents had been recorded.
In Weiss's view, the CIA director's possible trip is unlikely to be related exclusively to potential prisoner exchanges.
"You don't need the CIA director for prisoner exchanges," he noted.
Weiss also described Ratcliffe as one of the most pro-Ukrainian members of the U.S. administration and said that he had played a role in assisting Kyiv with carrying out long-range strikes. The journalist drew a parallel with the events of 2021, when then-CIA Director William Burns traveled to Moscow on the eve of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"The context here is important: Bill Burns traveled to Moscow in 2021 to warn Putin against... invading Ukraine," Weiss wrote.
We remind you
The American Boeing C-17 that transported John Ratcliffe to Moscow departed from Vnukovo for Riga. Before the visit, the United States asked Ukraine to suspend strikes.