Danilov: counteroffensive may begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week"

Ukraine's army is ready to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive, National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in an interview with the BBC.

He did not give a date, but said the offensive could begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week."

Ukraine has no right to make a mistake because this is a "historic opportunity" that cannot be missed, Danilov said. His interview with the BBC was interrupted by a phone message from Zelensky, who summoned him to a meeting to discuss the counteroffensive.

During the interview, Danilov said, among other things, that some Wagner PMC forces were retreating from Bakhmut. According to him, they "will regroup in three more places," but this "does not mean that they will stop fighting us."

Danilov also said that he was "absolutely calm" about russia's deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus: "This is not news to us."

Ukraine has been planning a counteroffensive for several months, while russian troops have been preparing for defense. Danilov said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will launch an offensive when Ukrainian commanders decide that they can achieve the "best result" at that moment.

"This could happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week," the NSDC secretary said. – "It would be strange if I named dates for the beginning of certain events. It's not possible... Our country is facing a very responsible task. And we realize that we have no right to make a mistake."

Background. Earlier, OP Podolyak said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had already begun.