The British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned the Russian President Vladimir Putin “don’t underestimate us, don’t test us.”

Wallace told The Sunday Telegraph in an interview that the West “must not be afraid” of the Russian leader and he is sure that “he will fail.”

The Defence Secretary who is a former British Army officer said Putin is “acting irrationally and inflicting horrors on Ukraine.”

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“The thing to say to Putin is don’t underestimate us, don’t test us,” Wallace told the newspaper.

“History is littered with authoritarian leaders underestimating the wider West and the United Kingdom.

“He clearly underestimated the international community.”

He added, “If we stick together and refuse to be intimidated then I believe he will fail.”

These comments come as Putin warned Western leaders on Saturday that if any country makes an attempt to put in place a no-fly zone in Ukraine there will be World War Three.

The dictator warned that a no-fly zone over Ukraine will be considered “combat activity” and then claimed that all Ukrainian military infrastructure has been destroyed and took our all their air defences.

Putin said Russia will view “any move in this direction” as an intervention that “will pose a threat to our service members.

“That very second, we will view them as participants of the military conflict, and it would not matter what members they are,” he said.

Putin also warned on Saturday that Western sanctions are akin to a declaration of war on Russia.

The British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, said in an interview with the Sunday Express, that the Ukrainian conflict was the “struggle of our generation.”

Truss said, “We will continue to support them (the Ukrainians) through thick and thin.

“We are there for the long haul.

“This is the struggle of our generation. What we are seeing taking place on the streets of Europe is something we have never experienced before in my lifetime.

“It is the fight for freedom and democracy, and sovereignty and self-determination.”