CIA Director Ratcliffe Warns Russia

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled unannounced to Moscow on Tuesday and, according to people briefed on the trip, warned Russian intelligence officials not to attack NATO member states amid U.S. assessments that Russia could try to test the alliance. The Kremlin confirmed he held talks with Russian intelligence counterparts and said he did not meet President Vladimir Putin. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called the visit “semi-routine,” tied it to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, and denied Ratcliffe was sent to warn Moscow about NATO.