There is quite a bit more than just the cooling system in the picture. Coax cables take control signals from room temperature to the quantum processor and readout signals back. The signal paths include attenuation, filtering and amplification in various stages. The processor itself is in a magnetic shield, which is the grey cylinder at the bottom.

It really is a genuine question. I want to understand some logic, anything at all, that compels Russia to behave the way they are.

I’m far beyond trying to convince anybody and way too old to care what people say. Occasionally, and seemingly today is one of those occasions, I quite like to call out idiots. It is a small pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless.

Quite how you concluded that my post was an excuse to post a link to BBC is beyond my admittedly limited comprehension. The logic that took you to that conclusion is intriguing, so please do explain.

You further imply that BBC is an iffy source. For me, that is a devastating perspective. Would you kindly help me find sources that are less iffy, please?