Hello from The Scotsman.

 

There has, of course, only been one story in the headlines this week.

 

I suspect we've all been following, horrified, each development in Ukraine as it has happened, and experienced a range of emotions.

 

 

Despair at the prospect of war in Europe. Admiration, tinged with sadness, at the unspeakable bravery of the Ukrainian people. Heartbreak at images such as that on the front of today's Scotsman: a young couple in an embrace, bidding each other farewell: she escaping her homeland, he staying - obliged to stay - to fight.

 

Amid all this, at The Scotsman we've attempted to answer questions we are being asked by readers. Some are very straightforward - there's a younger generation that knows little of Nato, Russia's military power, nuclear weapons, vacuum bombs and so on. So we try to explain that.

 

And even older readers may be uncertain about how to talk to children about war, so we have tried to help with that too.

 

But the core of our coverage will remain informative, level-headed journalism about events in and around Ukraine, worthy of The Scotsman's traditions of covering conflict for more than 200 years.

 

Our newly-appointed World editor Jane Bradley has had a brilliant, if heartbreaking, start. She was early to paint a picture of the emerging refugee crisis on Ukraine's borders: the heartbreak of families - “Hundreds of mothers with two, three, four children and no father, crossing on foot, with strollers and trolleys and bags. Young girls with dogs and cats. Cars full of children and luggage" - contrasted with the more heartwarming sight of Romanian volunteers lined up to meet those refugees, and help with transport, accommodation, food and more. It was an image to be repeated at border crossings across Europe, through the week: the cruelty of people being displaced by conflict, the generosity of human spirit among those who looked to help.

 

Jane and her colleagues will continue to offer this approach in the weeks ahead, all while hoping for the earliest possible end to Russia's murderous offensive.

 

 

We'll also make sure we don't take our eye off the ball on domestic matters. We'll continue to pick away at the mystery of the resignation of Eilidh Mactaggert, until recently the £235,000-a-year chief executive of the Scottish National Investment Bank. She no longer holds that role, but nobody seems able to say why, or explain the secrecy. Given it has been funded with £2bn of public money, we think answers should be forthcoming.

 

We also tell the story, today, of an IT glitch that may have led to hundreds of offenders being released from prison early. Again, we have more questions than answers so far. We'll continue to ask what on earth went wrong.

 

More cheerily, you should look forward to an excellent weekend package tomorrow: lots of good sport to take your mind off things, an interview with Outlander star Sam Heughan, and a magazine packed with the latest film, books and music reviews.

 

Also tomorrow, in what we think will be a very special reminder of Ukraine's rich culture - a culture, Vladimir Putin said last week, that does not exist - we'll print an eight-page Ukrainian literature special, bringing prose and poetry from that country to your breakfast table. We'll hope it will add another unique perspective on a troubling time.

 

Thanks, as ever, for your support. Have a wonderful weekend.

 

Best wishes,