20th February 2023 Belgrade, Serbia

Sian MacLeod

by Sian MacLeod

Former UK Ambassador to Serbia

Ukraine one year on: look back in anger

Kurir OpEd - 22 Feb 2023

On 24 February 2022 the world watched with horror and disbelief as Vladimir Putin launched a full scale, illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. One year on that horror and disbelief is mixed with anger and sorrow. At the senseless loss of tens of thousands of lives – Ukrainian and Russian. At the callous disregard […]

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30th April 2022 Belgrade, Serbia

Sian MacLeod

by Sian MacLeod

Former UK Ambassador to Serbia

The multilayered world of (dis)information

disinformation

Disinformation has become one of the defining words of our age. It is not a new phenomenon. But its present scale is unprecedented, helped by round the clock broadcasting and social media. There is a shorter word for it: lies. But ‘disinformation’ perhaps better conveys the sense of deliberate corrupting of the media environment with […]

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28th March 2022 Belgrade, Serbia

Sian MacLeod

by Sian MacLeod

Former UK Ambassador to Serbia

The myth of russophobia

shostakovich pasternak

People around the world have watched in horror and disbelief as Russian military hardware wreaks death and destruction across Ukraine. Moscow’s decision to launch a brutal and bloody war is illegal and unjustified. It is unsurprising that the world has moved quickly to condemn the invasion, and actions such as targeting of maternity hospitals and […]

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18th March 2022 Belgrade, Serbia

Sian MacLeod

by Sian MacLeod

Former UK Ambassador to Serbia

Turning back the clock: the Kremlin’s war on truth

Novaya Gazeta

A Russian-British journalist friend, speaking on air this week, observed that ‘violence and propaganda go hand in hand’. He suggested that people accept propaganda and lies because of fear, and because the truth is too terrible to contemplate. Perhaps that helps explain the attempts of Russian representatives who had no part in the decision, to […]

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