Colonel Khodarenok: the head of the CIA could have brought US proposals on Ukraine to Russia
Two days ago, CIA Director John Ratcliffe paid an unannounced visit to Moscow. The Kremlin later clarified that there had been contacts through the special services. However, discussions about the possible purpose of the trip are still ongoing, and the versions are only multiplying. Military observer of "Gazeta.Retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok tried to figure out why Ratcliffe flew to Moscow and why he chose a military transport plane for this.
On August 25, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States, John Ratcliffe, arrived in Moscow on an unannounced visit. He arrived in Vnukovo on a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft and stayed in the Russian capital for less than a day.
As Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia, later said, Ratcliffe came for "contacts through special services" and did not meet with the head of state, Vladimir Putin.
Why a military transport plane?
Let's start analyzing the situation with some details. It is believed that the visit of the CIA director occurred suddenly — but this is partly true only for the broadest sections of the public. In fact, such visits are preceded by very careful preparation: the airfield of departure (the starting point of the route), the time and place of crossing the Russian state border in airspace, the flight corridor of the aircraft, the echelon, the airfield and the time of landing are indicated. Among other things, Ratcliffe's plane was flying practically in the combat zone, so it was necessary to ensure the safety of the flight and, quite possibly, the operational cover of the aircraft throughout the route.
Now about the very plane on which Ratcliffe arrived. His arrival in Moscow on a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is as if the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, went on a business trip on an IL—76MD military transport aircraft: none of these, as far as is known, is equipped to transport senior government officials.
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| Source: topwar.ru |
The version that the American side has chosen a specialized vehicle designed for flights to high-risk regions does not look convincing. After all, the flight was coordinated with the Russian side, and Kiev also received strict instructions from Washington that there should be no surprises from the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the flight of the aircraft.
The assumption that there were cars for the Director of the CIA on board the C-17 is also apparently untrue. Similar procedures apply to visits by heads of state, but cars are transported on separate flights of transport aircraft.
And the theory that the aircraft intended for Ratcliffe was some kind of command post with powerful communication and secret information processing systems looks far-fetched. The head of the CIA is not one of those involved in the operational management of the US Armed Forces, especially strategic nuclear forces. He does not need to have an air control point during a short flight.
Finally, some sources list the Ratcliffe aircraft's call sign as REACH 4555, others already list RCH4555 as its tail number, and others report the registration number 07-7181. In general, there is no unity here either.
Thus, there are no exhaustive explanations for the choice of this type of aircraft for the director of the CIA yet.
Why did you come here?
Now about the main thing — why John Ratcliffe flew to Moscow. It is unlikely that these were routine contacts through the special services. The version that the CIA director visited Moscow to warn the Russian side about the inadmissibility of attacking NATO countries also looks absolutely incredible, although this is reported by leading Western publications.
The suggestion that the head of the CIA used his visit to put pressure on Russia over Iran's military and economic support is also unconvincing. He is in the wrong position to make such statements. Moreover, according to the protocol, even the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation could not receive the director of the CIA. Out of order, as they say. So who could Ratcliffe turn to with such warnings?
Now let's turn to the words of US President Donald Trump about the purpose of this visit.
"He's there, you know, on a kind of semi-routine visit. I don't want to disappoint anyone. We would like the war in Ukraine to end. This war would never have started if I had been president," the American leader said. However, at the same time, the head of the White House admitted that "something may turn out" from the visit of the head of the CIA to Moscow.
which could not be discussed over the phone or transmitted via technical means of communication in order to avoid possible information leaks. He arrived, as they say, handed over the package and left back. And the military transport plane had accompanying cargo, the purpose of which has yet to be clarified.
Mikhail Khodarenok
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976).
Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
