“Conflict financing is not a peripheral issue.” The #FATF has published dozens of reports on issues from ransomware to art and antiquities. It has never addressed conflict financing as a distinct phenomenon. In the latest RUSI Journal, Justyna Gudzowska argues that must change.
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#HIRING
We are looking for a Compliance and Contracts Manager to oversee the institute’s contracts and regulatory obligations. You will make sure that agreements are robust, that commitments to funders and partners are honoured, and that RUSI’s work meets the highest standards of governance.
Apply here, and/or share with your network: bit.ly/4zE02lj
The UK is right to put fraud at the heart of its FATF (@FATFNews) presidency. But a ‘war on fraud’ will only succeed if the countries where scams originate have the means to act. In the latest #RUSICommentary, Georgia Jones makes the case for why #FATF members should help fund the response.
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Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro traded accusations of corruption and sparred over ties to Washington in the first runoff debate. RUSI’s Daniela Portella Sampaio offers the broader context: whichever candidate prevails on 25 October, a right-leaning Congress and sustained pressure from China, the US and Europe will constrain Brazil’s foreign policy in similar ways.
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Is the mafia keeping fentanyl out of Italy? In the latest #RUSICommentary @federico_varese finds no evidence for it.
Italy’s low fentanyl death toll reflects Europe’s distinct opioid market history, not mafia restraint. Varese writes: “If money can be made, a group, which is either part or is not part of an established mafia, would likely start supplying the product.” But synthetic opioids such as nitazenes are a growing threat.
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🎥 As Western governments cut aid budgets, what happens to national security?
Yesterday at RUSI, The Lord Evans of Weardale KCB DL, former Director General of the Security Service (MI5) and Chair of @TheHALOTrust, joined Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb KBE CMG DSO, former Director Special Forces and former Commander of the Field Army, to examine the strategic costs of retrenchment.
Against a backdrop of heightened global instability, from the war in Ukraine to conflict in the Middle East, the discussion asked what reduced development assistance means for the UK’s ability to mitigate, manage and resolve violence across fragile and conflict-affected states, and what to prioritise as budgets contract.
Watch Lord Evans’s remarks below.
"Medical mobilisation cannot wait for an Article 5 decision."
A crisis combining cyber disruption, damaged infrastructure, unattributed attacks and disinformation could increase healthcare demand while reducing the capacity to meet it. If escalation then led to sustained combat, NATO would inherit the accumulated consequences, including more preventable morbidity and mortality.
The critical asymmetry is temporal. Escalation can occur faster than nations can train clinicians, replenish specialist teams or build resilient treatment, evacuation and continuity-of-care networks.
In a new RUSI Newsbrief, John Quinn argues that NATO must prepare its medical services now, drawing on Ukrainian experience and implementation science.
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🎙️Russia’s search for alternatives to the Western financial system is increasingly moving into crypto.
One experiment has attracted particular attention: A7A5, a rouble-backed stablecoin linked to the wider A7 payments network. It is designed to facilitate cross-border payments outside conventional banking channels.
In the latest episode of the #STRPodcast, host @keatingetom speaks with Dr Tom Robinson, Chief Scientist and Founder of @elliptic, about what A7A5 reveals about the evolution of sanctions evasion.
Listen to the full episode here: bit.ly/4ioYtBX
RUSI was pleased to partner with @CSIS and @UKinUSA yesterday for a conversation with UK Defence Secretary @wesstreeting (@DefenceHQ) on the future of US-UK defence cooperation.
As Europe rearms and transatlantic burden-sharing evolves, the discussion examined how London and Washington can keep deterrence credible.
You can watch the full recording here: bit.ly/4zuUmKk
Russia once kept Central Asia supplied with fuel. Now it’s struggling to keep its own planes in the air.
In the latest #RUSICommentary, Stanimir Dobrev (@delfoo) looks at how Ukraine’s drone strikes on refineries have created a kerosene shortage, straining Moscow’s finances and its regional ties.
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RUSI retweeted
TODAY | As Europe rearms and the U.S. shifts more of the burden to its allies, what should defense cooperation between Washington and London look like? Join @csiserep, in partnership with @UKinUSA and @RUSI_org, for a conversation with UK Secretary of State for Defence @wesstreeting on how both countries can keep deterrence credible in Europe and beyond.
Watch the live stream: bit.ly/4zuUmKk
Ministers, officials, industry leaders and RUSI experts gathered to discuss how the UK–Norway defence partnership can deliver on challenges including NATO’s northern flank, shared industrial capacity and countering hybrid threats.
The all-day event, ‘Implementing the Lunna House Agreement’, was hosted by RUSI with the Norwegian Center for Security and Resilience (UTSYN).
Norwegian State Secretary for Defence Andreas Flåm said: “[The Lunna House Agreement] is not just a procurement programme. The ambition is to make our forces interchangeable through common training, maintenance, equipment, personal exchanges and operational procedures.”
Read more: bit.ly/4dIi6SR
“The issue is preparedness” RUSI’s @BurcuAOzcelik tells @nytimes why years of substantial Saudi military investment have not stopped Houthi drone and missile strikes.
nytimes.com/2026/10/15/world…
📺How should the West interpret China’s cyber operations? @LouMarieHSD speaks with Ahana Datta Fasel about statecraft, tradecraft and the challenges for deterrence.
Full interview available on our website: bit.ly/4hXvvI5
Whether Lula or Flávio Bolsonaro wins Brazil’s presidential run-off, a right-leaning Congress and pressure from China, the US and Europe will constrain its foreign policy. In a the latest #RUSICommentary, Dr Daniela Portella Sampaio examines what the election means for Brazil and the region.
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RUSI retweeted
This winter isn't just testing Ukraine's resilience - it's testing Europe's. As the Hormuz crisis squeezes energy supplies, Russia is likely to escalate pressure on European grids, with cyberattacks the most credible threat, write James Coe and @ASabadus in the latest #RUSICommentary.
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Europe is fighting a hybrid war with a one-dimensional toolkit. Deterring cyber threats shouldn’t mean cyber-only responses. Our new paper by @LouMarieHSD and Dr Gareth Mott proposes a 52-tool framework spanning diplomatic, economic, military, intelligence and development instruments, sequenced to adversary behaviour rather than applied uniformly.
rusi.org/explore-our-researc…
In 2013, the UK launched a campaign for company ownership transparency. In 2026, the US has defanged its Corporate Transparency Act and the EU’s public registers have effectively ended.
How can the UK renew its case in an era of hard power politics?
In the latest #RUSICommentary, Matthew McGlynn argues that “as Russian sabotage attacks spread across Europe, opaque ownership… should be considered as a national security risk rather than simply a concern of anti-corruption campaigners.”
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RUSI’s @roberttollast, Research Fellow in Land Warfare, tells @CBCNews that US satellite imagery can reach Ukraine in as little as 15 minutes: “If Ukraine loses access to this, it would complicate their targeting efforts” cbc.ca/news/world/trump-kyiv…
