Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said progress in Kiev’s counteroffensive against Russian forces on the battlefield is “slower than we wished“, the BBC reported today.

“Some people think this is a Hollywood movie and they expect results now. It’s not,” Zelensky reportedly said in an interview.

Ukraine said it had recaptured eight villages in the south in the past two weeks. Although small, this progress is the most its forces have made since November, as they try to penetrate heavily fortified and mined Russian-held areas.

Zelensky stated, according to the BBC, that promoting the Ukrainian armed forces is not easy, as 200,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory have been mined by Russian forces. “Whatever some people want, including attempts to put pressure on us, with all due respect, we will proceed to the battlefield in the way we think is best,” Zelensky told the BBC.

Russia had months to prepare its defenses. Ukrainian troops have not yet reached the heaviest Russian fortifications, which lie behind the 1,000-kilometer front line.

Kiev forces have had ‘partial success’ the previous day and are digging trenches and attacking on the southern front while facing a major Russian offensive in the east, a senior Ukrainian defense official said today.