Independence Avenue Media

09/03/2026

NATO and EU leaders are discussing Russia’s growing hybrid threats and how to respond to them collectively. Mark Rutte and Ursula von der Leyen say Russian intimidation will not weaken support for Ukraine and that pressure on Moscow will increase.

09/03/2026

Ralph Goff, a former CIA chief of operations for Europe and Eurasia, says Ukraine innovates faster while Russia has the advantage in scale — and that the longer the war runs, the more Russia learns about countering NATO systems.

🔗 Watch the full interview:
https://youtu.be/_mvh7eXBWCI

09/03/2026

Ralph Goff, a six-time CIA station chief, says the Trump administration may be trying a different channel for negotiations by sending CIA Director John Radcliffe to Moscow — instead of special envoys Jaren Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

09/02/2026

🔹 Russia has been invited to the G20 finance ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina this week, breaking the Kremlin's isolation from the group after the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

President Trump said earlier it would be useful if Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the upcoming December G20 summit in Miami.

👉 Kiryl Sukhotski explains what's behind the handshake between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Putin's finance minister Anton Siluanov.

09/02/2026

Summer continues in Odesa even during the war. Some people sell corn on the beach, while others take tourists underground — to a place where the city’s history now intersects with a new wartime reality.

We visited Odesa to see how the city is trying to preserve everyday life in a place where an air raid alert can sound at any moment.

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09/02/2026

Ralph Goff, a 35-year CIA veteran and six-time station chief, says John Ratcliffe's Aug. 25 trip to Moscow may have been less about warning Russia off NATO than about finding a new channel for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Goff, who served six tours as a CIA station chief and as chief of operations for Europe and Eurasia before retiring in 2023, explains why CIA directors have historically served as quiet diplomatic intermediaries and why the Trump administration may have wanted a new face after limited progress by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Goff also says he has personally seen Ukraine's domestically produced ballistic missiles in production, warns that Russia will close the innovation gap and breaks with most Ukrainians in arguing for elections — even before a cease-fire.

09/02/2026

Ralph Goff, a six-time CIA station chief, says spy directors have a long history of quiet dealmaking — and Washington may have sent Ratcliffe to Moscow to probe for an opening for a peace deal, not only to deliver a warning.

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Ralph Goff, a six-time CIA station chief, says Washington may have sent Ratcliffe to Moscow to probe for an opening for a peace deal.

09/02/2026

“Putin is a gambler and he likes risk.”

Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would heed Washington’s warning not to test NATO, Glen Howard says the answer remains uncertain.

Howard argues that Putin may weigh the risks of confronting President Donald Trump against what he could perceive as U.S. vulnerabilities — including pressure on Patriot supplies and Washington’s focus on Iran and the Gulf.

09/01/2026

Glen Howard on the message CIA Director John Ratcliffe carried to Moscow — and what it says about who's now running White House Russia policy.

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Glen Howard on the message CIA Director John Ratcliffe carried to Moscow — and what it says about who's now running White House Russia policy.

09/01/2026

Ralph Goff spent 35 years at the CIA and six tours as station chief. He says John Ratcliffe's trip to Moscow probably wasn't only a warning to Russia over NATO — it was a search for a new channel to a deal, after Witkoff and Kushner got nowhere.

Goff also says he has seen Ukraine's domestically built ballistic missiles in production, and that Russia is closing the innovation gap faster than the West wants to admit.

▶️ Watch the full interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mvh7eXBWCI