10/24/2026
Despite US President Donald Trump’s flirtation with Russia, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) continues to assist Ukraine. Cooperation between the CIA and Ukrainian intelligence services remains close, and intelligence operations against Russia have become even more active.
Director of Intelligence John Ratcliffe plays an important role in this relationship, The Atlantic reports.
CIA Director Can Influence Trump’s Position
Ratcliffe finds himself between a US president at odds with Kiev and an intelligence agency that plays a key role in countering Russian aggression. However, according to Western intelligence officials, despite Trump’s rhetoric, CIA operations against Russia have become more active than under Joe Biden.
The Ukrainian government does not consider Ratcliffe an unconditional ally, because he carries out the president’s decisions. If Trump were to order a halt to intelligence sharing over Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, the CIA director would have to comply. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe advocates for the agency to return to its core tasks, which include intelligence and covert operations.
Thanks to many years of cooperation, Kyiv hopes that he will provide Trump with objective information about the course of the war.
More than a dozen current and former American and European intelligence officials characterize Ratcliffe as an official who is aware of the threat posed by Russia not only to Ukraine, but also to the United States and its allies.
Unlike other administration officials, Ratcliffe rarely speaks publicly and rarely comments on social media. This allows him to discuss the situation with Trump more openly behind closed doors and not soften his assessments of Russia for the sake of public rhetoric.
“He is well informed and understands the real situation,” said one senior Ukrainian intelligence official who works directly with the CIA.
Trump is looking for a way to persuade Putin to negotiate
The CIA’s success in helping Ukraine has become a problem for Trump. Regular strikes on Russian oil refineries have weakened the Russian economy and affected its military potential. Trump links the damage to the refineries to rising fuel prices and insists on an end to Ukrainian attacks, while at the same time agreeing with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to sell Russian diesel on the world market.
Trump’s announcement came as a surprise, according to three people familiar with the talks . Some of his advisers had discouraged him from talking to Putin without a concrete peace proposal, fearing that easing sanctions without reciprocal concessions from Russia would appear weak.
Trump likely hoped that the prospect of Russia’s oil revenues returning would encourage the Kremlin leader to return to peace talks. But U.S. intelligence has for years believed that the Russian leader is continuing the war because he believes he can win. He can count not only on military success but also on the fact that Ukraine’s allies will eventually tire of supporting it.
CIA chief visits Moscow for talks
In August, Trump tried a different approach to ending the war, sending CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow. There, he met with Russian intelligence officials and presented U.S. intelligence assessments of the situation on the front. The conclusion was that neither side had gained a decisive advantage, with Russian forces making little progress and Ukraine failing to drive them from its territory.
Ratcliffe took advantage of a closed channel of communication between American and Russian intelligence officers, which allows them to discuss important issues without the attention of the press and politicians. His visit was intended to show Moscow that the United States is conveying its assessment of the situation directly through intelligence agencies, rather than through diplomatic channels.
Although Ratcliffe did not meet Putin personally, Russian intelligence officers were supposed to convey the content of his messages to the leadership. There has long been speculation in the United States and among its allies that the Russian president’s entourage may be exaggerating his chances of victory. Therefore, Ratcliffe, who has access to information about the course of the war, could have conveyed to Moscow an assessment that could force Putin to reconsider his strategy.
In September, the CIA director also told Volodymyr Zelensky about his trip to Moscow. Their conversation took place by chance during a refueling in Ireland, but it demonstrated that the Ukrainian president and the head of American intelligence can quickly exchange information and openly discuss the course of the war.
How Ratcliffe is helping Ukraine despite pressure from the White House
Last week, Ukraine could feel the effects of a potential reduction in U.S. intelligence support. During the Russian shelling of Kyiv, there were reports of disruptions in Starlink and U.S. early warning systems. According to sources familiar with the situation, this made it difficult to detect and intercept some of the Russian missiles.
A Ukrainian intelligence official blamed the US for the failure to intercept some targets, but there is evidence that technical malfunctions may have been the cause. Officially, the US has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, but Trump could make such a decision at any time.
According to people who have worked with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, if the president orders it, he will not try to persuade him to change his decision, even if it raises concerns within the intelligence agency.
During his confirmation hearings in 2025, Ratcliffe said he wanted to focus the CIA on its core missions of intelligence and covert operations. He stressed that the agency would carry out the president’s orders and conduct operations where other agencies cannot.
It is worth noting that last year, after Trump’s public spat with Zelensky in the White House, the US temporarily suspended the transfer of intelligence to Ukraine. Five days later, Ratcliffe explained that the president wanted to be sure of the Ukrainian leader’s commitment to the peace process. After the meeting, Zelensky sent Trump a letter thanking him for American assistance and stating Ukraine’s readiness for negotiations.
Trump read part of this address during his speech before Congress and called Zelensky’s words important.
Ratcliffe believed that the pause in US aid gave Zelensky time to consider further steps . He supported the Ukrainian president’s decision to reach out to Trump and predicted the resumption of intelligence sharing. The CIA director also stressed the importance of working with Ukraine to counter Russian aggression and advance peace talks.
As the publication emphasized, Ratcliffe actually advised Zelensky to take into account Trump’s character, because he himself understands well how to get along with the American president.
As OBOZ.UA wrote, during a trip to Moscow in late August, Ratcliffe conveyed to the Russian leadership the assessment of American intelligence services regarding the war against Ukraine. American intelligence believes that if the Russian Federation continues the war against Ukraine, its economy will eventually fail. As a result, Russia will lose and face the same collapse that the Soviet Union suffered.