His Majesty The King, Patron, Visits RUSI for the First Time

Part of the problem with European sanctions is that there’s never really the follow-through to sort of terrify people into making decisions that go against Russia. Whereas with the Americans, there’s always that fear that you might be next to get your hands chopped off.”

There have been several regional enablers and spoilers that have sustained the conflict and contributed to a massive ramp up in domestic military capabilities across both the RSF and SAF. UN analysis, US intelligence reports, and investigative journalists have described alleged arms flows from the UAE to the RSF through a web of brokers, proxies, and middlemen that span Libya, Chad, Uganda, and the Central African Republic. Likewise, there's been allegations of logistical support for the Sudanese army from Egypt, and an influx of Iranian drones and Russian munitions to the Sudanese army, and also sales, allegedly amounting to $120 million, from Turkish arms companies that include drones and various warheads to the Sudanese army."

“Testing has two different implications – the science and the signalling,” says Darya Dolzikova, senior research fellow for proliferation at the Royal United Services Institute...“If Russia or China were to start explosive testing they would be sending a signal of escalating tensions and possibly resorting to nuclear use. In that instance we would be in a very different conversation.”

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.

Given there are many other places from which China could buy its oil, including the United States, it would seem logical for China to avoid confrontation.

The NCSC annual review is not a vehicle for announcing government policy — and it shouldn’t be – but today’s report highlights a wider uncertainty about whether the UK's current strategy is moving the dial fast enough to meet the growing scale and sophistication of cyber threats.