The Kremlin says CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts, a rare and secretive visit at a time when relations with Washington remain strained over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

French police have detained four people suspected of plotting an attack on exiled Russian rights activist Vladimir Osechkin.

Ukrainian and Polish officials say U.S. arms deliveries to Ukraine have resumed.

Since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, attacks and harassment of Russians abroad have been blamed on Moscow’s intelligence operatives across Europe and elsewhere.

CIA Director Bill Burns has met with his Russian intelligence counterpart to warn of consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a meeting with the country's political activists in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, claimed in a statement carried by Russian news agencies Wednesday that the U.S. has funded the Belarusian opposition and encouraged the protests. The Belarusian opposition has condemned Moscow for offering the Belarusian strongman a financial lifeline, warning that it would tarnish future ties between the countries. “Lukashenko is the legitimate president of Belarus,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Belarus Wednesday for talks on deepening military cooperation.