Wake up to threat of world war, Ukraine envoy tells West

Valery Zaluzhny, now ambassador to the UK, was ousted from his position as commander-in-chief after a power struggle in Kyiv in February but remains immensely popular at home, with polls suggesting he would win a presidential election should he run. He told the Rusi Land Warfare Conference in London that total war with Russia required politicians to make ­unpopular decisions. He was dismissed after petitioning President Zelensky to mobilise half a million troops into the army in an effort to halt the Russian ­advance. Zelensky has since cut the age of conscription from 27 to 25 and ­introduced harsher sanctions for draft dodgers but avoided more sweeping measures.