Russia may be considering a dramatic escalation of the Ukraine war with CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly travelling to Moscow for an “emergency” meeting amid fears that the Kremlin could resort to nuclear weapons or target Ukraine’s Western allies, DailyMail reported.According to the Daily Mail, Ratcliffe is believed to have delivered a warning to Russian officials against escalating the conflict, including through the use of a nuclear weapon. The message was reportedly a “just don’t do it” warning, based on US intelligence assessments that Russia could respond quickly and dramatically after renewed setbacks on the battlefield.The reported visit comes as tensions between Moscow and the UK have also risen over Britain’s expanding military support for Ukraine.The reported US warning coincided with an interesting development involving Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent, citing a source familiar with the situation, reported that Washington had asked Kyiv to refrain from striking Moscow and St Petersburg while Ratcliffe was in Russia.The source cited by Kyiv Independent claimed Kyiv agreed to pause strikes on the two cities between August 24 and 26, adding that US officials did not believe Russian air defences around the cities were strong enough to guarantee protection.A US official also confirmed to The Kyiv Independent that Ratcliffe was scheduled to meet senior Russian officials, although the agenda of the discussions remained unclear. The Kremlin has not officially commented on the reported visit.The trip was first brought into focus after Flightradar24 data showed a US Air Force C-17 military transport aircraft flying from Riga, Latvia, to Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday. The aircraft, operating under the call sign RCH4555, left Riga at around 8.50am and landed in Moscow shortly after 10am.The flight had arrived in Riga on August 23 from Camp Springs, Maryland, home to Joint Base Andrews, a key US military facility associated with presidential air transport.The reported Ratcliffe visit comes against the backdrop of intensifying US-Russia contacts since Donald Trump returned to the White House and pledged to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war.However, repeated visits to Moscow by Trump’s peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have so far failed to bridge major differences between Russia and Ukraine, particularly over territory. Their planned first visit to Ukraine this week was also postponed.
