Britain’s Economic and Military Dividend from Supporting Ukraine

Currently, Russia sees no reason to come to the negotiating table because it is making – admittedly small – gains on the battlefield and there is no offer that meets their demands,” she told CNBC. “The two sticking points are European military support for Ukraine – the so-called security guarantees and what that actually means – and of course the territorial issue, which Moscow is counting on Ukraine to compromise on.”

There are fundamental issues with the political donation system, regardless of which currency is used, says Keatinge. And some have been amplified by the arrival of crypto, which is also creating fresh risks. The crypto concern: Of particular concern is the ability of Electoral Commission (them again!) to trace the origins of cryptocurrency. “The current system relies very heavily on the traditional anti-money laundering checks that banks do,” he says. “If you’re going to make payments with a token that doesn’t touch the banking system, then all the traditional checks you rely on are redundant.” Keatinge gives one major example. “The idea is that you essentially would use a permissible donor as a cutout, and would use them to launder money into the political financing system in the U.K,” he explains. “That individual is then renting a sort-of money mule,” he added. “Chances are no one is going to say: ‘well, where did that money come from?’” And so: The RUSI expert is pushing that moratorium until there’s a better picture of the risks. “At the moment they’re simply saying the system works, and if they add crypto into the mix, it still works. You can’t copy and paste existing regulations and apply it to crypto if the crypto risk profile is different. I’m not saying crypto is more risky or less risky, it’s a different risk profile and a different process.”

There are things that both sides find it important to say in public. But I think it does not affect the ongoing substance of the [bilateral] dialogue,” said Andrew Cainey, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. “The UK’s balanced approach towards China has been there for a while. What has not been there is the consistent execution through meetings, engagement, and through specific guidance to companies and universities on how to work productively and securely with China.”

The move may reflect Labour's preference to recentralise policing to deal with a strained system – suggesting it could be about to enact some radical changes.

Ukraine has the capacity to be an enduring actor in Europe's security landscape but its own export restrictions and complex regulatory frameworks have blocked many of Ukraine's most advanced defence systems from entering European markets.

The breakthrough not only allows the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to consolidate its supply lines - ensuring the ongoing flow of foreign hardware (including long-range loitering munitions) - but helps prop up the appearance of a contiguous RSF 'state', however superficial this proposition actually is.