CIA boss' warning to Putin amid escalating tensions

CIA chief John Ratcliffe made a flying visit to Russia to issue a warning to President Vladimir Putin, according to reports.

His in-and-out trip to Moscow on Tuesday (25 August) has attracted a lot of attention, especially as at least five so-called 'doomsday planes' were spotted in US airspace the same day.

Donald Trump has dismissed the speculation about the purpose of Ratcliffe's visit - but multiple reports suggest the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was delivering a very important message to Putin.

Ratcliffe, who has led the CIA since last year, made the journey to the Russian capital earlier this week for talks with officials, although Putin's camp has insisted he didn't meet the Kremlin leader.

His press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Ratcliffe sat down with members of the 'intelligence services' and that 'naturally, Putin is briefed immediately about everything'.

"How much this will impact the overall process of recovering our bilateral relations from the profound crisis they're currently in, it is premature to say," Peskov added.

The CIA boss' trip to Moscow was 'semi-routine', according to Trump (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

One of the last known times that a CIA chief made the journey to Russia was when Ratcliffe's predecessor William Burns hosted talks in the months prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine - hence why this has set tongues wagging.

His visit has sparked widespread speculation that the US might be pre-empting new military action of some kind by Putin.

According to a number of US publications, Ratcliffe went over to try and defuse the situation somewhat - but the main purpose of his trip was to warn Russia not to attack NATO members, reports claim.

Outlets including the Wall Street Journal, CBS News and Politico have each cited sources who claim that the CIA director was sent to 'warn Russia against any escalatory action against the Baltic states'.

Ratcliffe also reportedly broached the subject of Iran while in Moscow, cautioning the country that additional sanctions could be slapped on it if the Strait of Hormuz isn't reopened.

The CIA has refused to clarify the reasons for the visit. LADbible has contacted the CIA for further comment.

What Donald Trump has said

Earlier this month, reports emerged claiming that US intelligence officers were working under the assumption that Putin was planning to test NATO's defences and resolve.

But according to president Trump, people are kicking up a fuss about Ratcliffe's excursion for nothing.

Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck quizzed the commander-in-chief on Wednesday (26 August) morning about the speculation 'that is crazy' in regards to the Russia visit.

But Trump described it as 'semi-routine' - and said although he hates to 'disappoint people', the rumours about the purpose of Ratcliffe's trip are not true.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham vowed to continue supporting Ukraine this week, and defiantly said that the country's position on this 'won't change'.

In wake of his first trip to Kyiv on Monday (24 August), Burnham said: "It’s a challenging situation when we look around the world right now.

It is feared that Putin might have been plotting something (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"But from what we’re doing, people need to be sure of this: We’re doing what we’ve done since the start of this conflict, which is to provide that back-up support to Ukraine to be able to defend themselves, because they do need to do that. They are obviously in an impossible situation, so challenging, but Britain needs to be there and be a constant as they go through this illegal invasion that they’re facing.

“So, we will continue to do that. Prime ministers before me gave that assurance and I visited Ukraine to send a really clear message to the Ukrainian people that Britain isn’t changing course.

"We said we would support them. We are supporting them, and that won’t change."

While in Ukraine, Burnham told president Volodymyr Zelensky he could rely on the UK's 'steadfast support'.

Burnham also plans to lobby Trump to provide more support for Ukraine’s defence during a trip to Washington in September.