The West risks WW3 unless it beats 'world of tyranny' in the race for new weapons, Ukraine warns as Britain tests laser beam capable of destroying targets at the speed of light

The West risks World War Three unless it beats tyrannical forces in the race for new weapons, the former commander of Ukraine's armed forces has warned.

General Valery Zaluzhny, who this month became Kyiv's ambassador to the UK, told a conference in London that 'evil is here and it has come to kill', with a conflict on the scale of the First and Second World Wars possible.

'Time is no longer on our side,' he warned, adding that Britain and its allies need to 'wake up' and urgently prioritise developing new military technology.

Zaluzhny added that Western governments must prepare their populations for the possibility of war, and that people should be prepared to make sacrifices.

'Society must agree to temporarily give up a number of freedoms for the sake of survival,' he said. 'Modern wars unfortunately are total [wars].' 

His comments come as it was revealed yesterday that the UK has test-fired a laser beam from an army vehicle for the first time, a weapon which is capable of destroying targets at the speed of light from more than a kilometre away.

General Valery Zaluzhny, who this month became Kyiv 's ambassador to the UK, told a conference in London that 'evil is here and it has come to kill'

n this image made from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, a Russian tank fires toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location

The weapon has been hailed as 'groundbreaking' by the Ministry of Defence, and could serve as a far more affordable way of zapping drones out of the sky than missiles or bullets.

Aerial defence is a huge concern for Ukraine as it continues to battle Russian aggressors, with President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly emphasising the need for additional air-defence systems to comprehensively protect his country's airspace.

The rapid development of drone warfare and electronic countermeasures has had a dramatic impact on both Ukraine and Russia's success in the war, which has been rumbling on for more than two years.

Zaluzhny was commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces when Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade in 2022 before he was dismissed in February.

His speech at the Royal United Services Institute conference was his first since he took up a new position as Ukrainian ambassador to London this month.

The General said that only by combining Ukrainian war experience with Western resources and research could breakthroughs be made.

He has previously predicted that only by winning a technological arms race could each side achieve a breakthrough in the war.

Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi (pictured today), warned Britain must prepare for 'total war' against Russia and its allies 

British troops in Foxhound vehicles arrive after crossing of the Vistula River as part of the NATO Dragon 24 military exercise in March

Without rapid development, he said, Ukraine risks losing the war, with the West on the precipice of a conflict on the scale the First and Second World Wars, in which tens of millions were killed.

'Is humanity ready to calmly accept the next war in terms of the scale of suffering? This time the Third World War? 

'Free and democratic countries and their governments need to wake up and think about how to protect your citizens and their countries,' he said. 'We are ready to share all our knowledge.' 

He said that 'perhaps the most difficult and the most important component is the society's readiness,' adding: 'If you want peace, prepare for war.'

At the same conference yesterday, Britain's new defence secretary John Healey made the concerning admission that problems with the UK's armed forces, impacted by decades of cuts, are 'much worse than we thought'.

He noted that 'these are really serious times' with 'rapidly increasingly global threats', and that the UK must be 'fit to fight'.

He added that the nature of military conflict is changing more rapidly than ever before and warned that 'Russia is far from a spent force'.

Mr Healey told the Land Warfare Conference that the situation in Ukraine was providing lessons as to what the UK was facing.

He said that only a 'national unified response' to the threat of Putin and other foreign aggressors would suffice.

Speaking in London, Defence Secretary John Healey told the Land Warfare Conference that the situation in Ukraine was providing lessons as to what the UK was facing

Ukrainian soldiers stand next to a tank in a rear position after attacking Russian positions in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on July 20

Mr Healey told an audience of Army officers and invited guests: 'These are really serious times. I want to establish a new era for UK defence. We face rapidly increasing global threats.

'And as Ukraine has shown us, the nature of land warfare is changing more rapidly than ever.

'Russia is far from a spent force and if [Vladimir Putin] wins he will not stop. And this war is at a critical moment. So we are stepping up aid and delivering more ammunition.'

Mr Healey said the Government was committed to investing 2.5 per cent of GDP in the military, but he gave no indication when Labour would meet that commitment.