CIA director visits Ukraine last week – media

09:58, 18.01.2022 1 min read

CIA Director Bill Burns visited Kyiv last week, where he met with colleagues from local intelligence agencies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, CNN said.

"Last Wednesday, Director Burns visited Kyiv on a previously-scheduled trip where he consulted with intelligence counterparts amid concerns of a further invasion of Ukraine by Russia," CNN journalist Natasha Bertrand said on Twitter, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

It is noted that during the visit, the director of the CIA discussed "discussed current assessments of risk to Ukraine."

"He [Burns] also had the opportunity to discuss the current situation with President [Volodymyr] Zelensky and efforts to de-escalate tensions," the official said.

The CNN journalist said that Burns served as a key intermediary between the United States, Russia and Ukraine for several months. In early November, during his visit to Moscow, he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to express "serious" U.S. concern about Russia's actions.