Zelenskyy meets CIA Director Ratcliffe on his way to US, Reuters reports

According to one source, the meeting took place today, Monday, September 21. Another source said they spoke while their planes were refueling, without specifying the date of the meeting.

Reuters also reported that both sources declined to disclose details of the conversation.

CIA director's visit to Russia

On August 25, CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on an unannounced visit, where he held a series of meetings.

The Kremlin claimed that there was no meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and said that the visit was aimed at establishing "contacts between the security services."

Later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the trip was largely routine. He said that maintaining communication channels between US and Russian intelligence agencies is critical to preventing escalation during major crises and conflicts.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Ratcliffe visited Moscow to personally share an unfavorable assessment of the state of the war against Ukraine with Moscow and to persuade the Kremlin to reach a deal before the situation worsened.

There were also other reports suggesting that the US had obtained intelligence about Russia's early preparations for mobilization and plans to test NATO's resolve. In this context, the visit was reportedly a warning to Moscow not to take such a step.