President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi admitted on Wednesday that the offensive of Kyiv’s armed forces against the Russian occupiers is going “slower than we would like,” the BBC reports.

“Some people think it’s a Hollywood movie and are waiting for the results now. This is not true,” he stressed in an interview with the BBC on the same day as the international conference on the recovery of Ukraine, an event attended by more than 1,000 government and private sector leaders, is being held in London.

Speaking about the Ukrainian offensive, Zelenskyy told BBC journalists that “people’s lives are at stake”, and the fact that Russia has mined 200,000 square kilometers of Ukraine’s territory hinders progress.

“With all due respect, no matter what some people want, including attempts to put pressure on us, we will advance on the battlefield in the way that we consider to be the best,” said the President of Ukraine.

He reiterated the need for Ukraine to receive security guarantees from NATO, but the long-term goal of his country is to join the alliance.

His comments came after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg clarified earlier this week that Ukraine would not be invited to join NATO at the alliance’s next summit in Vilnius next month.

“Stoltenberg knows my position. I told them [aliaților NATO] many times: “Don’t pull the rug from under our feet,” Zelensky also said in an interview with the BBC.

The Ukrainian offensive achieved “partial success” in the south

Zelenskyi’s comments came after Ukraine’s military said earlier on Wednesday that it was strengthening its positions and advancing on the southern front after achieving “partial success” in the past 24 hours and countering a massive Russian offensive in the east.

Ukraine reported the recapture of eight villages in the south over the past two weeks. Although small, these territorial advances are the most significant recorded by the Ukrainian military since November, when they advanced into heavily fortified and mined areas held by the Russians.

“They had partial success over the last day, they consolidated their positions at the points reached and organized the front line,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday.

She clarified that Kyiv’s troops continue offensive actions against the city of Melitopol, a Russian fortress located in the depths of the occupied territory, and Berdyansk, a port on the Sea of ​​Azov. Kyiv has been preparing for months for the counteroffensive, seen as a key moment in the war with Russia, but has imposed an information blackout and independent reports are rare.

The Ukrainian army refers to fierce fighting in the east of the country

Military analysts say that it is still too early to draw conclusions about the success of the two-week operation. They said that only now Kyiv will use the main part of its forces, some of which were trained and equipped by the West, and the outposts of Ukraine remain at a certain distance from the main line of defense of Russia.

Malyar also said on Wednesday that heavy fighting is taking place in the east, especially near the city of Liman, which Kyiv recaptured from Russian forces in October.

“In the east, the defenders continue to resist the large-scale assault of Russian troops in the direction of Liman and Bakhmut,” said Malyar.

She specified that the main direction of Russia’s offensive actions remains the east, and Moscow still seeks to reach the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which make up the industrial zone of Donbass.

Follow the latest events of the 483rd day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.