Russian National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov admitted Sunday the invasion of Ukraine has moved slower than the Kremlin would have liked, Reuters reported.

Zolotov, who was once Putin’s chief of security, blamed the disappointing speed on what he called far-right Ukrainian forces, who he claimed were hiding behind civilians, Reuters reported.

“I would like to say that yes, not everything is going as fast as we would like,” he said while at a church service on Sunday, according to Axios. “But we are going towards our goal step by step and victory will be for us, and this icon will protect the Russian army and accelerate our victory.”