Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin finally speaks out on CIA director’s mysterious visit to Moscow

Key Points:

• CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow this week and held talks with Russian intelligence officials, marking the first known trip by a US spy chief to Russia since November 2021, though he did not meet President Putin.
• The Kremlin described the intelligence contacts as positive but cautioned it was too early to assess their impact on the deep crisis in bilateral relations between Russia and the US.
• Ukraine’s grain exports continue to face delays with up to 70 ships stuck near the Danube's Sulina Canal due to port capacity limits, pilot shortages, and air raid alerts, raising concerns about global grain price increases.
• Ukraine is grappling with a deepening corruption crisis, highlighted by President Zelensky firing a senior official suspected of money laundering amid ongoing political infighting.
• The UK government plans to advise households to stock up on tinned food and bottled water to prepare for potential extreme weather events or cyberattacks, aiming to improve national resilience without causing alarm.