CIA chief warned Moscow over Ukraine, Iran support, possible attack on NATO territory - report

CNN reported that Ratcliffe also used the trip to warn the Kremlin to cut off economic and military support for Iran.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe delivered a grim assessment of Russia’s situation regarding the war in Ukraine during a secret visit to Moscow this past week, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

During Ratcliffe’s visit with FSB head Aleksander Bortnikov and Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, the CIA chief urged the Kremlin to start taking attempts to negotiate a peace deal seriously, the NYT reported. Notably, Ratcliffe reportedly did not threaten retaliation if the Kremlin ignored his warnings and continued fighting.

CNN reported that Ratcliffe also used the trip to warn the Kremlin to cut off economic and military support for Iran, which comes as the administration is working to economically isolate Iran.

Ratcliffe also reportedly directly warned Russia not to attack NATO territory, two sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN.

This comes as US and European officials grow increasingly concerned that the Kremlin will try to attack NATO territory, especially as eastern European countries ward off drone attacks that Russia has repeatedly denied.

Western assessments indicate that Russia could launch anything from a cyberattack to a small-scale incursion in order to test the NATO alliance.

Trump: Putin will not be attacking a NATO territory

However, US President Donald Trump has disputed that Russia would attack NATO territory.

"I am not concerned ... at all. There is no problem," Trump told Axios on Thursday.

“I’ve had good talks with him. He’s not going to be attacking a NATO territory,” he told CNN that same day.

“I don’t want to comment on that, but they’re not going to attack,” he said later when asked if Ratcliffe directly warned Bortnikov.

The New York Times noted that CIA analysts believe that Putin is getting inaccurate reports of the war. Some officials say that they hoped that Putin would see a direct warning from a US intelligence official as more urgent than communications through normal diplomatic channels.

Notably, Ukrainian officials seem to prefer Ratcliffe to other Trump officials who have previously negotiated Ukraine war deals, such as special envoy Steve Witkoff or the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Witkoff and Kushner communicate regularly with Russian officials, but some Ukrainian officials believe they are too close to the Kremlin.

This is not the first time Ratcliffe has delivered discreet messages for Trump. He was the first cabinet-level official to visit Venezuela after the US captured former president Nicolás Maduro in January. In May, he delivered a message for the president to Cuban officials, urging them to make a series of economic changes.