CIA Director reportedly flew to Moscow for meetings

CIA Director William Burns reportedly traveled to Moscow on Tuesday aboard a Boeing C-17 military aircraft for undisclosed meetings, according to anonymous sources familiar with the trip cited by CBS News. The visit has not been officially confirmed by either the U.S. or Russian governments.

The purpose of the meetings and who Burns would be meeting with remain unclear. The presence of a Boeing C-17 flying from Latvia to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport had already drawn attention on social media before the CBS report. Flight tracking data showed the plane had departed from Joint Base Andrews near Washington D.C., but its occupants and destination were not immediately confirmed.

This reported visit marks Burns' first known trip to Russia as CIA director, though he maintains regular contact with his Russian counterparts. He was reportedly involved in negotiations for the release of American-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina in April 2025, as well as journalists Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan in 2024. In 2021, former CIA Director Michael Pompeo met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.