DONETSK, Ukraine

A Ukrainian major said a mass counteroffensive against Russian forces in the front line located in the eastern part of the country, could begin at any moment.

"We are all ready, but there is an order, there is a chief of staff planning the operation. We trust their orders. There may be a sudden attack.

"Remember how we liberated Kherson. Nobody knew and everything happened quickly, but it took us about eight months to get to this point. Our struggle will continue until we liberate our lands," Andre, who did not want to give his real name for security reasons, told Anadolu.

The decision on the time and place of the counteroffensive will be made by the Ukrainian General Staff, Andre said, noting that intense clashes with Russian forces in the Donetsk region continued regardless.

Russian forces and Wagner paramilitary forces continued to repel their attacks, Andre added, saying they have not retreated a meter from their positions in the region and that the most violent conflicts of the Russia-Ukraine war are taking place in Bakhmut, where he claimed that Russian forces continued to suffer losses.

Andre also gave details about his role in the front, and said he currently serves as a major in the 59th Brigade, and previously served in the Kherson region.

Expressing that Russia's war in Ukraine started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas region, Andre said Ukrainians have been suffering from the war for years.

He also claimed that the Russian army committed war crimes in Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian people are living under great stress.

According to the UN and Ukrainian data, at least 8,500 civilians have lost their lives due to the war so far, among which include 468 children, he added.

He also said there are approximately 4,000 civilians still in Bakhmut, and that evacuations in various cities are continuing with the intention to take civilians to safer places.

Russian forces have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut, a transport and logistics hub in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which is part of the largely Russian-speaking industrialized Donbas region.

* Writing by Burc Eruygur in Istanbul