News & Comment

Christoph Bergs, a research analyst at the RUSI defense think tank, said: “The basing of US B-1 bombers at RAF Fairford for operational employment against Iran was based on the UK stipulation that these were only used for defensive strikes. This likely included a more modest targeting list. Their withdrawal reduces the capacity to quickly surge sorties against Iran, reducing the threat level somewhat.”

The Kremlin has little reason to make concessions, because its strikes on Ukrainian ports and energy infrastructure are a source of political leverage in any wider negotiatio...The blockade also hits Ukraine where it is most exposed, since agriculture brought in more than half of the country's export revenue last year.”

It’s natural that for [Putin], the FSB should be most important...A lot of Russian networks were dismantled by the expulsions in 2022. It’s very hard to know how powerful the GRU network is [now].”