Kremlin admits the difficulty of the Russian military operation in Ukraine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by TASS news agency as telling a Bosnian television station on Wednesday that Russia's military operation in Ukraine was "very difficult" but would continue.

Peskov added in the long interview that Russia has managed to inflict serious damage on the Ukrainian military machine and that this will continue.

TASS quoted Peskov as saying in a rare confession: "The special military operation is ongoing. It is a very difficult process, and of course certain goals were achieved within a year."

Ukraine continues to bomb the Russian-occupied eastern parts of the country, which Peskov said showed the need to continue the conflict and push forces loyal to Kiev to retreat.

"We were able to hit the Ukrainian military machine a lot," he said, adding that Russia had launched countless missile strikes on what he said were military targets across Ukraine.

"This work will continue."

Ukraine accuses Russia of targeting mainly civilian sites, which Moscow denies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his army needed more time to prepare for a counteroffensive aimed at repelling Russian forces.

In an interview broadcast by the BBC on Thursday, he said it was unacceptable to launch the attack now because so many lives would be lost.

In the interview, he said, "With what we have now, we can move forward, and we will succeed... But we will lose a lot of lives. I think this is unacceptable. So we need to wait, we still need more time.

Ukraine receives advanced weaponry from the West, including tanks and armored vehicles, as well as training its troops as it prepares to launch a counterattack.