CIA Chief Told Kremlin Russia’s War Is Going Badly – and Putin May Not Know It, NYT Says

CIA Director John Ratcliffe delivered a dire assessment of Russia's war against Ukraine in a clandestine visit to Moscow, warning Kremlin officials that the Kremlin's military and economic situation would worsen if they refused to engage in meaningful peace talks, according to The New York Times. Ratcliffe met with Aleksandr Bortnikov, head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), to convey his concerns directly to the individual who could hold the most sway with President Vladimir Putin.

American officials believed that Putin, a former Soviet intelligence officer, would likely take Ratcliffe's warning more seriously than if it were delivered through traditional diplomatic channels. The assessment highlighted the significant cost Russia has incurred for its limited territorial gains in Ukraine, echoing Ratcliffe's previous remarks stating that the life expectancy of a Russian soldier on the front line is less than 35 minutes, and that Moscow has captured only around 1% of Ukraine's territory in the past 18 months.

This stark difference from the initial assumptions held by President Donald Trump and his senior advisers, who believed that Russia's larger population and nuclear arsenal would eventually lead to a battlefield victory, underscores the current grim reality of Russia's military progress. Ratcliffe suggested to Bortnikov that, given Russia's deteriorating military and economic outlook, Moscow should enter serious peace negotiations before its situation worsened further.

While the Kremlin confirmed Ratcliffe's visit and meetings with senior Russian intelligence officials, it did not disclose the specifics of the discussions. The Kremlin spokesperson also stated that President Putin had been briefed on the outcome of the meetings without providing further details. The visit marked the first known trip by a CIA director to Moscow since November 2021, when then-CIA chief William Burns traveled to Russia just months before Putin initiated the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.