CIA Director John Ratcliffe is in Moscow for meetings, according to sources familiar with the situation who spoke to CBS News on Tuesday.

Ratcliffe appears to have been the mysterious passenger aboard the U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft that landed earlier today at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, along with a U.S. diplomatic motorcade.

Neither the U.S. nor Russian governments have commented on the identity of the American official in Russia or the purpose of his visit.

The CIA did not immediately comment.

Earlier today, a U.S. military transport aircraft landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24.

The U.S.-registered Boeing Globemaster, aircraft number 07-7181, made a direct flight from Riga, Latvia, and landed in Moscow at around 10:00 a.m. Greece time.

The Kremlin said it had no information about the aircraft.

The trip appears to be Ratcliffe’s first known visit to Russia since becoming CIA director, although he has maintained contacts with his Russian intelligence counterparts.

The CIA has also played a role in recent U.S.-Russia prisoner exchanges, including the April 2025 release of Ksenia Karelina, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, a case in which Ratcliffe personally negotiated.

The agency also participated in the 2024 prisoner exchange that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

Former CIA Director William Burns traveled to Moscow in November 2021, where he met senior Russian officials and spoke directly with President Vladimir Putin, warning him against invading Ukraine.

Ratcliffe’s visit comes as U.S.-mediated peace talks over Ukraine remain largely stalled, with the two sides still far apart on key issues.