Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv agreed not to strike Moscow during CIA chief’s mysterious visit
Ukraine heeded a special request from the Donald Trump administration not to attack major Russian cities during a visit by CIA director John Ratcliffe.
The US contacted Kyiv last week to request that it not strike Moscow, St Petersburg and a stretch of northern Russia while a plane carrying the senior US official was flying in and out of the Russian capital, sources told Reuters.
The request covered Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and was only revealed hours after Ratcliffe left Russia late on Tuesday.
Subsequently, a large US military aircraft was confirmed to have travelled to Russia from the US via Latvia on Tuesday, flight tracking data confirmed.
The purpose of Ratcliffe’s visit and the nature of his meetings in Russia were not immediately clear. It was the first known trip to Moscow by a US spy chief since his predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021.
Ukraine resumed strikes on Russia early on Wednesday after Ratcliffe’s departure, with Russia saying it downed at least 426 drones overnight.
