RT by @mikenov: RT by @mikenov: Washington is testing a new approach toward Russia: Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to push Putin toward negotiations CIA director met with FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and SVR Director Sergey Naryshkin in Moscow on August 25. According to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, one of the main goals of the visit was to persuade the Kremlin to resume negotiations with Ukraine. Ratcliffe gave Bortnikov a “bleak” assessment of the situation for Russia and made it clear that Moscow should make a deal now, before its position on the battlefield and in the economy gets even worse. 📍CIA director told the Russians that over 18 months, Russia has captured ar

Washington is testing a new approach toward Russia: Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to push Putin toward negotiations

CIA director met with FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and SVR Director Sergey Naryshkin in Moscow on August 25.

According to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, one of the main goals of the visit was to persuade the Kremlin to resume negotiations with Ukraine.

Ratcliffe gave Bortnikov a “bleak” assessment of the situation for Russia and made it clear that Moscow should make a deal now, before its position on the battlefield and in the economy gets even worse.

📍CIA director told the Russians that over 18 months, Russia has captured around 1% of Ukraine’s territory, while the average life expectancy of a Russian soldier on the front line is less than 35 minutes.

Before the trip, Ratcliffe contacted Ukrainian intelligence and assured Kyiv that he was going to Moscow not to offer Russia concessions.

Washington also has a separate calculation — Putin himself spent years working in the intelligence services, so a message from the CIA director may carry more weight in the Kremlin than ordinary diplomatic statements. The CIA also has long-standing working channels with the FSB and SVR.

📍Washington may believe that Putin’s inner circle is hiding the real situation on the battlefield from him.

US and European officials say the Kremlin is discussing new scenarios for attacking NATO countries. Ratcliffe may therefore have delivered a second warning to Moscow — not to try to test NATO’s readiness for a direct confrontation.

The trip was kept so secret that even some senior White House officials and US military commanders were reportedly unaware of it beforehand. Trump personally sent Ratcliffe to Moscow, while some of his closest advisers were not briefed on the contents of his message.

Ratcliffe and Marco Rubio are seen as representatives of the hardline faction within the Trump administration.

His trip may therefore have been more than an attempt to reach an agreement with Moscow — it could also signal a shift in Washington’s broader approach to negotiations, potentially at the expense of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are seen as more willing to compromise with Russia.

— @nexta_tv Aug 28, 2026