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Ian Proud

Ian Proud was a member of HM Diplomatic Service from 1999 to 2023. From July 2014 to February 2019 Ian was posted to the British Embassy in Moscow. He was also Director of the Diplomatic Academy for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Anglo-American School of Moscow.

all articles

January 11, 2026
The Coalition of the Willing has achieved nothing; this is what European leaders should say to Zelensky at their next summit

Sanctions may have been a policy or war, but they won’t be a policy of peace, and you will need to accept that we will drop them too.

January 9, 2026
Greenlanders are now pawns in a neo-colonial game of chicken chess between America and Denmark

Trump’s hope is that Denmark will back down under pressure and sell Greenland on favourable terms.

January 7, 2026
Through weakness, Britain and Europe have made themselves flag bearers for illegal U.S. action in other countries

European foreign policy appears to rest almost entirely on a desire not to offend President Trump.

December 31, 2025
UK mainstream journalist writes LinkedIn review of Ukraine in 2025

A masterclass in talking points, name-drops, and wilful blindness, penned by a reporter who’s visited the front line at least once… on Zoom.

December 23, 2025
Keir Starmer’s threat of legal action against Roman Abramovich is financially grubby not to mention illegal

The Europeans have already died on a similar hill through their failed attempt to expropriate Russian sovereign assets held in Euroclear to support a so-called reparations loan to Ukraine.

December 21, 2025
European leaders were always going to fail to agree a reparations loan

It’s time to ditch the dreamers and get back to diplomacy

December 20, 2025
La più grande rapina in banca della storia

L’Unione Europea porta avanti i piani per confiscare definitivamente i beni russi

December 16, 2025
The biggest bank robbery in history

The European Union presses on with plans to seize Russian assets permanently

December 11, 2025
Zelensky’s rush to elections is a blatant effort to cling to power and keep the money flowing

Zelensky’s offer to rush to early elections appears just another Kvartal 95 inspired piece of theatre.

December 9, 2025
Europe needs heed the invitation in the U.S. National Security Strategy and return power to its nation states

Russians reciprocate with friendship as vigorously as they do with hostility, so the possibility of peace is not a mirage at all.

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