CIA Director John Ratcliffe was on board the mystery US military transport aircraft that landed at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport, it has been reported.
Neither US nor Russian officials immediately commented on the flight or confirmed that Mr Ratcliffe was on board.
The large US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III - a heavy transport plane, designed for carrying troops and military equipment - took off from Riga, Latvia, this morning before flying across the border into Russian airspace.
The plane departed Moscow on Tuesday, according to data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
CBS News and Axios both reported the visit by Donald Trump's former director of national intelligence who now runs the nation's spy agency. The outlets did not say who Ratcliffe was meeting with or what the talks are expected to cover.
When asked, both the Department of War and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said they did not have information about the aircraft.
The Globemaster III had arrived in Riga on August 23 from the US Camp Springs airbase near Washington DC, data from Flightradar24 showed.
Former Pussy Riot member reveals she was recruited by Russia’s security service to spy on activists
A former member of Russian protest group Pussy Riot has revealed she was recruited to join Russia’s security service to inform on other activists.
Margarita Konovalova, one of the 15 women who started the feminist collective in 2011, was jailed in 2020 for staging an anti-police brutality protest near the Kremlin. The group became known for their criticism of Vladimir Putin and wearing colourful balaclavas during stunts.
But Konovalova has now admitted she spent the last three years passing information on artists and anti-war activists to the FSB security service, fearing that her relatives would be killed otherwise, The Insider reported.
A women's shelter for refugees in Poland fights for survival as anti-Ukrainian sentiment rises
When Nastya Podorozhnya's relatives fled the war in Ukraine for neighboring Poland, volunteers welcomed them with open arms.
Podorozhnya, 29, was already living in Poland when the war began. But days before Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, she rushed back to Ukraine to help her sister and nieces get out.
As she returned to Poland alongside an influx of refugees in the war’s first days, she witnessed the outpouring of support from Polish volunteers. But she also spotted a risk: Ukrainian women accepting help from strangers could become vulnerable to human traffickers.
Ukraine hands Britain ‘goldmine’ of secret battlefield intelligence to protect bases from Russian spies
Ukraine has handed Britain a “goldmine” of secret battlefield intelligence to help the UK protect its bases from Russian spies.
The agreement was signed as prime minister Andy Burnham made his first visit to Kyiv on Monday to chair his first meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” and pledge “continuity” in the UK’s approach to Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky handed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) access to Ukraine’s “Avengers” AI database, which is expected to help the UK learn from Ukraine’s experience on the battlefield and develop AI-powered solutions to national security challenges in both countries, making it the first outside of Ukraine to receive the intelligence, Downing Street said.
One killed and 123 injured in major fire at Russian petrochemical plant
One person has been killed and 123 others wounded in a major fire at a petrochemical facility in Russia’s Far East.
Flames broke out at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC), near the town of Svobodny, close to the border with China, earlier today.
AGCC said it began in an auxiliary processing area of the pyrolysis unit, while pro-war Telegram channels speculated Ukrainian sabotage.
In a statement on its website, the company confirmed that a Chinese national employed by a contractor has died.
As many as 19 people have been taken to hospital, with their injuries ranging from moderate to severe, AGCC said.
Ex-US special envoy for Ukraine calls for mobilisation of women
Ukraine should mobilise women in its fight against Russia as they “fight no worse than men,” a former US special envoy has urged.
Keith Kellogg told the Naspravdi MAX YouTube channel: “Do I believe women should be mobilised into the army?
“My answer is yes, because they fight no worse than men.”
This comes just days after former defence minister Oleksii Reznikov also said that the government should consider a universal conscription model.
Pointing to Israel as an example where women serve alongside men, he said: “That immediately would double our mobilisation resource.
“Then you can clearly see which military positions and specialties can easily be filled by women - they don’t have to go to the battlefield.
“They fill many rear positions, logistics and support, and men can be moved from rear positions closer to the front.
“The question is whether society is ready to say, like Israel, that we can survive only if everyone accepts that they must defend Ukraine.”
Two Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant workers injured in drone strike
Two workers at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike, management said.
Drones hit near the plant's hydraulic structures and wounded two maintenance and construction workers.
Management did not provide details on any damage caused by the attack.
Putin adviser warns UK factories face attacks from ‘unknown sources’ for helping Ukraine
British factories manufacturing drones for Ukraine could face targeting by "unknown sources", a Kremlin adviser has warned, after the UK agreed to share long-range missile blueprints with the nation.
Andrei Fedorov, a former deputy foreign minister for Russia, stated he could not "100% exclude" the possibility of "semi-military" operations directed at Britain, speaking as Andy Burnham undertook a trip to Kyiv.
The visit marked the Prime Minister’s inaugural overseas journey since taking office. While in the capital, the UK reaffirmed its "unwavering" commitment to Ukraine, which in turn provided what officials described as a "goldmine" of combat data to enhance British security.
‘Who started the fire?’ Burnham challenges Putin on first trip to Ukraine as UK-Russia tensions grow
Prime minister Andy Burnham has hit out at Russian president Vladimir Putin during his first state visit to Kyiv, amid mounting tensions between Moscow and London.
The British leader chaired his first meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” to emphasise Britain’s continued support for Ukraine through the provision of long-range SCALP missile blueprints.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the move would add “fuel to the fire” and “prevent any progress in the peace process”.
Putin adviser warns UK factories face attacks from ‘unknown sources’ for helping Ukraine
British factories manufacturing drones for Ukraine could face targeting by "unknown sources", a Kremlin adviser has warned, after the UK agreed to share long-range missile blueprints with the nation.
Andrei Fedorov, a former deputy foreign minister for Russia, stated he could not "100% exclude" the possibility of "semi-military" operations directed at Britain, speaking as Andy Burnham undertook a trip to Kyiv.
The visit marked the Prime Minister’s inaugural overseas journey since taking office. While in the capital, the UK reaffirmed its "unwavering" commitment to Ukraine, which in turn provided what officials described as a "goldmine" of combat data to enhance British security.
First British national killed fighting for Putin in Ukraine ‘dies in drone attack’
A British man has died fighting for Russia after being killed in a drone attack in Ukraine, according to a report.
Bradley Townsend, 33, from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, is reported to be the first UK national killed fighting for President Vladimir Putin.
According to LBC, the former fisherman travelled to Moscow in April where he met other British pro-Russian fighters Aiden Minnis and Ben Stimson who are thought to have recruited him online.
