Niall O'Connor

THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT and the head of the CIA had a short secret meeting in Shannon Airport, The Journal has confirmed. 

The meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and John Ratcliffe took place as the two stopped over to refuel their aircraft as they travelled to and from America.

It was first reported by news agency Reuters who provided the story to outlets here in Ireland and globally. 

The meeting was understood to have taken place on Monday according to the agency’s reporting. 

We spoke to several sources in Ireland and abroad. Many of the Irish security sources said they were not aware of the meeting, but we have confirmed that the meeting did take place. 

A source with direct knowledge of the events on Monday said that their discussion was a “short meeting”. Two other sources confirmed that a meeting took place. 

Multiple sources in Ireland said that the meeting was kept exceptionally secret and that Irish and international agencies that would be routinely informed of such a visit were not informed. One source said that while it was planned, it was at short notice.  

The US is driving forward with efforts to find a negotiated end to the Ukraine War. Ratcliffe met with Russian officials in Moscow in recent weeks also. It is not known what was discussed in Shannon, but there have also been meetings in European countries at which intelligence of a Russian threat to Europe was discussed. 

The meeting is not the first for Zelenskyy at the venue with a previous bilateral get-together between Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the Ukrainian president happening there in February 2025. Marco Rubio has also recently held a press conference as he stopped off en route to the US. 

Shannon’s position as the last airport before flights strike out across the Atlantic from Europe means that many international diplomatic and occasionally military flights land to refuel at the facility. 

It is also a location for US troops and officials to stop off for refuelling. It once had an international agreement that 50% of US-Ireland flights must originate from the airfield – that ended in the early 2000s. Most troops flights are to Germany and the Middle East. These flights are following a UN Security Council resolution and a vote of the Dáil. 

In the 1990s the airport also became a hub for Aeroflot, the Russian national airline. 

It is not without its controversy as small groups of protesters gather on a weekly basis to demonstrate against the use of Shannon as a stop off point for US troops. A number of aircraft have been damaged by demonstrators which has prompted a heightened security presence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday in at the United Nations General Assembly. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The facility has continued to play host to high profile and secretive officials stopping off en route, and it is also a major hub for charter aircraft as they are shipped around the world. 

A number of security sources joked that a coffee shop at the airport had gained a reputation as a location for many impromptu high level talks as people queued for an order. 

Sources have said that often senior US officials and their opposite numbers from other countries have had unplanned meetings in the terminal or on aircraft as they wait for their aircraft to be refuelled. 

Shannon is, according to one security source, seen as a good venue for secret meetings as it is not as busy as other airports and is in an isolated area.

It is understood meetings have also been facilitated between Irish officials and international colleagues. 

A statement has been requested from the Department of Foreign Affairs.