Zelensky met with CIA chief in Ireland ahead of talks with Trump — Reuters
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Ratcliffe at Shannon Airport in Ireland. The talks took place on Monday, September 21, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
According to one of the agency's interlocutors, Zelensky and Ratcliffe met directly on Monday. A second source clarified that they spoke while both planes were refueling in Shannon. Both sources requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The content of the conversation has not been disclosed. Reuters sources declined to say which issues were discussed. The agency's published material also lacks official comments from the White House, the CIA, or the Ukrainian side regarding the substance of the meeting.
The contact occurred on the eve of Zelensky's expected meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The day before, on September 20, the Ukrainian president reported a phone conversation with Trump and said they had agreed to meet in person. According to Reuters, the meeting is expected on Tuesday, September 22.
After the call, Zelensky spoke of "diplomatic momentum" and said the upcoming meeting with Trump could significantly influence further efforts to end the war. The President of Ukraine called the peace track the main priority and said Kyiv and Washington are discussing possible de-escalation steps, as well as energy and food security and the protection of civilians.
The current meeting with Ratcliffe comes amid intensifying contacts between the Trump administration and both Kyiv and Moscow. In early September, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Kyiv after talks in the Russian capital. In Moscow, they spent about three hours in a meeting with Vladimir Putin before arriving in Ukraine.
In Kyiv, the American delegation discussed with Zelensky the possible resumption of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia with U.S. mediation. According to Reuters, the parties also touched on supplies of air defense systems, support for Ukrainian energy ahead of winter, possible security guarantees, and a post-war economic plan.
Witkoff said after the talks that the American side had heard new proposals in Moscow and expects another round of negotiations in the near future. However, no breakthrough was officially announced following the Moscow meeting.
Ratcliffe himself has also become a visible participant in Washington's closed contacts with the Russian side in recent weeks. On August 25, the CIA director made an unannounced visit to Moscow, where he held talks with representatives of Russian intelligence services. The Kremlin later confirmed the contacts, noting that the CIA head did not meet with Vladimir Putin, but the Russian president was briefed on the results of the talks.
Details of those negotiations were also not officially disclosed. Reuters reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called contacts between intelligence agencies a positive phenomenon but refused to reveal their content.
Axios later reported, citing sources, that during his Moscow visit Ratcliffe discussed the possibility of resuming Ukrainian-Russian negotiations with U.S. mediation and the idea of a trilateral meeting involving Trump, Zelensky, and Putin. According to the outlet, the American side then informed Kyiv about these contacts. No agreement on such a trilateral meeting was officially announced.
Thus, Zelensky's meeting with the CIA director in Ireland took place immediately before a new round of contacts between Ukrainian leadership and the U.S. administration in New York. Reuters has no information on whether Zelensky and Ratcliffe discussed specific conditions for potential talks with Russia or proposals previously relayed between Washington and Moscow.
Sources: Reuters, Office of the President of Ukraine, Axios
