John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, made a secretive visit to Moscow this week to privately share his bleak assessment of the state of the Russian war against Ukraine, and to urge the Russians to cut a deal before their military and economic situation gets worse, current and former officials said.
C.I.A. analysts have long questioned whether Mr. Putin’s advisers have given him honest assessments of the war’s trajectory and toll.
Some officials said they hoped that Mr. Putin, a former intelligence officer himself, would see a message from the C.I.A. director as more urgent and credible than communications through normal diplomatic channels.
The private message that Mr. Ratcliffe delivered to Mr. Bortnikov about Ukraine echoed some of the director’s public statements.
Last month, Mr. Ratcliffe spoke out pointedly about Russian troop losses during the war, and Moscow’s inability to advance on the battlefield. He noted that the life expectancy of a Russian soldier on the front lines was less than 35 minutes.
7 Comments
pmjv@lemmy.sdf.org · 3 pts · 9d
Is this the CIA's idea of a secret these days?
TherapyGary@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 6d
Using the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director as the messenger is an unusual choice for what amounts to a warning about the costs of continuing the war. The CIA may carry more credibility with a former intelligence officer than an ordinary diplomatic appeal would.
TherapyGary@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 6d
The C.I.A. analysts’ concern that Putin may not be receiving honest assessments from his own advisers is probably the most consequential detail here. A private warning from outside that circle could matter precisely because it gives him information his subordinates may be reluctant to provide.
brucethemoose@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 6d
I think you double posted.
Agreed, though.
But I would bet Putin is too deep in his information bubble to give that message much weight.
TherapyGary@piefed.diffrint.org · 2 pts · 6d
Russia’s inability to make significant battlefield advances despite its losses helps explain the timing of the Moscow visit. A worsening position gives the warning much more weight than it would have had earlier in the war.
TherapyGary@anarchist.nexus · 2 pts · 6d
The New York Times says some officials hoped Putin would regard Ratcliffe’s message as “more urgent and credible” than normal diplomatic communications. That is an interesting reason to send an intelligence chief instead of relying on the usual diplomatic channels.
brucethemoose@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 6d
That is horrific.