Oleksiy Danilov interview: Ukraine counter-offensive 'ready to begin'

Ukraine is acceptable to motorboat its long-expected counter-offensive against Russian forces, 1 of the country's astir elder information officials has told the BBC.

Oleksiy Danilov would not sanction a day but said an battle to retake territory from President Vladimir Putin's occupying forces could statesman "tomorrow, the time aft time oregon successful a week".

He warned that Ukraine's authorities had "no close to marque a mistake" connected the determination due to the fact that this was an "historic opportunity" that "we cannot lose".

As caput of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Mr Danilov is astatine the bosom of President Volodymyr Zelensky's de facto warfare cabinet.

His uncommon interrogation with the BBC was interrupted by a telephone connection from President Zelensky summoning him to a gathering to sermon the counter-offensive.

During the interview, helium besides confirmed that immoderate Wagner mercenary forces were withdrawing from the metropolis of Bakhmut, the tract of the bloodiest conflict of the warfare truthful acold - but helium added they were "regrouping to different 3 locations" and "it doesn't mean that they volition halt warring with us".

Mr Danilov besides said helium was "absolutely calm" astir Russia opening to deploy atomic weapons to Belarus, saying: "To us, it's not immoderate benignant of news."

Ukraine has been readying a counter-offensive for months. But it has wanted arsenic overmuch clip arsenic imaginable to bid troops and to person subject instrumentality from occidental allies.

Much is astatine involvement due to the fact that the authorities successful Kyiv needs to amusement the radical of Ukraine - and occidental allies - that it tin interruption done Russian lines, extremity the effectual subject deadlock and recapture immoderate of its sovereign territory.

Mr Danilov said the equipped forces would statesman the battle erstwhile commanders calculated "we tin person the champion effect astatine that constituent of the war".

Asked if Ukrainian equipped forces were acceptable for the offensive, helium replied: "We are ever ready. The aforesaid arsenic we were acceptable to support our state astatine immoderate time. And it is not a question of time.

"We person to recognize that that historical accidental that is fixed to america - by God - to our state we cannot lose, truthful we tin genuinely go an independent, large European country."

He added: "It could hap tomorrow, the time aft time oregon successful a week.

"It would beryllium weird if I were to sanction dates of the commencement of that oregon those events. That cannot beryllium done…. We person a precise liable task earlier our country. And we recognize that we person nary close to marque a mistake."

Mr Danilov dismissed suggestions the counter-offensive had already begun, saying that "demolishing Russian power centres and Russian subject equipment" had been the task of Ukrainian equipped forces since February 24 past year.

"We person nary days disconnected during this war," helium said.

He defended the determination by Ukraine's service to combat successful Bakhmut for truthful galore months, a conflict that has outgo the lives of galore of its soldiers.

"Bakhmut is our land, our territory, and we indispensable support it," helium said. "If we commencement leaving each settlement, that could get america to our occidental borderline arsenic Putin wanted from the archetypal days of the war."

He said that "we power lone a tiny portion of the city, and we admit to that. But you person to support successful caput that Bakhmut has played a large relation successful this war."

Asked if Wagner mercenaries were leaving, helium replied: "Yes, that is happening. But it doesn't mean that they volition halt warring with us. They are going to ore much connected different fronts… they are regrouping to different 3 locations."