Agency Operations — 2026-10-24

CIA Provides Ukraine Intelligence for Energy Strikes While Ratcliffe Delivered War Assessment to Moscow via Intelligence Back Channel

BLUFRunning covert targeting support and a back-channel peace message simultaneously undercuts both lines, giving Moscow reason to doubt Washington's commitment to either track.

The Atlantic reported, per Alternet, that CIA Director John Ratcliffe went to Moscow in August and told Russian security officials neither side is winning, passing the message through an intelligence back channel without meeting Putin 1. The Daily Beast, citing The New York Times, reported that Ratcliffe met FSB director Aleksandr Bortnikov and warned that Russia's military and economic position will worsen without a peace deal 2. The sources diverge on timing: Alternet places the trip in August, while the Daily Beast describes it as occurring this week. Trump told Axios there was "no message" and nothing unusual 12. The Atlantic also reported that the CIA gives Ukraine intelligence for targeting Russian energy sites, and the International Energy Agency found Russian refinery throughput in June fell to a 20-year low 1.

Analysis
Washington is running two tracks: the CIA sustains Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy sites while its director tells Moscow's security service that neither side is winning. The message targets Putin's information problem, since CIA analysts believe his advisers shade battlefield and economic reporting. Trump's line that nothing unusual happened, and that Kyiv's refinery strikes are "a disgrace," contradicts both the visit and the targeting support. That leaves Kyiv unsure whether intelligence sharing will hold and lets Moscow read the contradiction as division. The message may instead aim mainly to deter Russian escalation against NATO, not push Putin toward talks. Earlier reporting showed only targeting support, so the Moscow channel adds a parallel line of effort. Confidence is high: a primary New York Times account is relayed consistently on substance, though outlets differ on timing and neither side has issued an official readout.

3 sources

Trumps own spy chief just secretly delivered a warning to Putin report - Alternet
Putin Given Humiliating Ukraine War Warning in Secret John Ratcliffe Meeting - The Daily Beast
CIA chief delivered bleak assessment of Russia's war in secretive Moscow visit - The New York Times (syndicated via The Boston Globe)