British government pronouncements since Russia's 24 February 2022 invasion of Ukraine have been resolute yet self-congratulatory. The UK is leading the way among western allies in providing Ukraine with the support it needs. Putin's regime is globally isolated as never before. The Russian economy is crumbling under unprecedented sanctions. Let's stick with the plan. Our strategy is working!

But is that really true? How engaged was the Conservative government in efforts to prevent conflict in Ukraine after tensions with Russia ramped up ten years ago? Have any of the seven Foreign Secretaries since 2014 altered Putin's calculus? Have western sanctions really worked? And does 'the best diplomatic service in the world' have the skills to understand and outsmart Russia?

From seeing Putin in Northern Ireland in 2013, to living through the expulsion of British diplomats from Moscow in 2018, then authorising sanctions against Russia in 2022, Ian casts a sceptical eye over these questions.

Ian Proud was a member of HM Diplomatic Service from 1999 to 2023. Ian organised the 2013 G8 Summit in Northern Ireland which marked Vladimir Putin's last visit to the UK. From July 2014 to February 2019 he was posted to the British Embassy in Moscow where he advised UK Ministers on sanctions against Russia. He was Chair of the Russia Crisis Committee, Director of the Diplomatic Academy for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Anglo-American School of Moscow. He speaks Russian and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.