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Prof. Bonk 🇺🇦 Perverse & Unintended Consequences@actfast · Aug 26, 2026

🧵America is running out of critical munitions in two separate wars. So, CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly landed…

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Summary

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a secret trip to Moscow to warn Russian intelligence that NATO territory is off-limits, amid concerns that Putin may test the alliance with a limited attack on the Baltics while the U.S. faces ammunition shortages from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The move echoes a similar warning visit in 2021 before Russia invaded Ukraine, raising alarm about whether the U.S. can back up its NATO commitments.

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  1. #1

    🧵America is running out of critical munitions in two separate wars. So, CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly landed in Moscow, bypassed Putin entirely, and locked himself in a room with Russian spies to deliver a stark warning: do not touch NATO. 1/🧵

  2. #2

    The threat is no longer limited to Kyiv. U.S. intelligence indicates Vladimir Putin is eyeing a limited assault or cyberattack on a Baltic NATO nation to test if a distracted, ammo-starved Western alliance will actually fire back. 2/

  3. #3

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officers, not Putin. Washington sent Trump's top spy to draw a hard line around Article 5 territory before Moscow miscalculates American resolve. 3/

  4. #4

    The historical parallel is terrifying. The last CIA director to make a secret flight to Moscow was William Burns in November 2021. He went to warn Putin against invading Ukraine. Three months later, Russian tanks rolled toward Kyiv. 4/

  5. #5

    The chessboard is far more fragile now. The Ukraine war is in year five. Critical U.S. weapon stockpiles have been severely degraded by expenditures in the Iran conflict. Washington is fighting on two fronts with shrinking armories. 5/

  6. #6

    Putin sees the math. Squeezed in Ukraine and under pressure at home, Kremlin strategists know American arsenals are strained. A small-scale land incursion in the Baltics could test whether NATO's mutual defense pledge is real or a bluff. 6/

  7. #7

    The White House reaction is pure dark comedy. On Glenn Beck's radio show, President Trump brushed off his spy chief's secret warning to Moscow as semi-routine, pivoting immediately to say both sides want the Ukraine war ended. 7/

  8. #8

    You do not send the CIA director to Moscow for a semi-routine visit when munitions are depleted and NATO borders are threatened. A depleted arsenal invites dangerous miscalculations. Read the full analysis: 8/🧵wsj.com/politics/polic… 8/