On 25th August 2026, John Ratcliffe, the director of the CIA, travelled to Moscow on an extraordinary, unannounced trip that reflects the unprecedented and urgent period we now endure. Ratcliffe’s visit has been widely discussed in media circles after the Washington Post confirmed flight-tracking data showing a C-17 flying from Joint Base Andrews to Moscow. Ratcliffe spent nearly eight hours there, meeting Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SVR, in what was described as a working-