Ukraine's first lady says her country "cannot see the end of its suffering"

Russian airstrike pulverizes a shopping mall in Ukraine 0:37

(CNN) --

Five months of war have forced Ukrainians to adjust their expectations.

After bracing for a conflict they thought would be a sprint, many are now grappling with the likelihood of a "marathon," said Olena Zelenska, Ukraine's first lady.

"It's very difficult to hold out for five months," Zelenska told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

"We have to accumulate our forces, we have to save energy."

"We cannot see the end of our suffering," he said.

Zelenska spoke to CNN at a crucial moment in the fight.

While Kyiv did notch a string of early victories after the Russian invasion, the tide appears to be turning in the Kremlin's favour, especially in the east.

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Russian forces have eliminated most of the Ukrainian defenses in the Luhansk region and have consolidated control of a belt of territory in the south.

Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk make up Ukraine's Donbas region, an industrial hub dotted with factories and coalfields that has faced sporadic fighting since 2014, when Russian-backed separatists seized control of two territories: the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk and the Luhansk People's Republic.

Zelenska's husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, told G7 leaders on Monday that he wants to end the war in Ukraine by early next year.

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For now, fighting continues in the east, with rockets hitting targets across the country, including, on Monday, a shopping mall that was home to at least 1,000 people when the air-raid siren sounded.

At least 18 people were killed and dozens are still missing.

Firefighters work to remove debris from a burning shopping mall following a rocket attack in Kremenchuk, Ukraine.

Like her husband, Zelenska called the attack "terrorism."

Although she said she was "shocked" by the incident, she explained that she was exasperated by the number of times the Russian military's methods have left her stunned.

"We have been shocked many times. I don't know what else the occupants can shock us with," Zelenska said.

• Zelensky tells G7 leaders he wants the war with Russia to end by the end of the year

a displaced family

Zelenska said that she and her children did not see Zelensky for two months of the war.

During the first days of the war, the president lived in her office and her family was forbidden to stay there to keep her safe.

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Since then, the fighting has moved away from Kyiv, allowing the family to reunite, but not for long periods of time.

Her experience, Zelenska said, is not unique.

She estimates that half of Ukrainian families have been torn apart by war.

"Our relationship is on pause, like that of all Ukrainians," he said.

"We, like all families, are looking forward to reuniting, to being together again."

Zelenska said she and others are coping by "trying to find joy in the simple things," even if they are fleeting.

She compared herself to a photograph in the city of Borodianka, a city east of Kyiv occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the war.

The image, Zelenska said, showed a series of bombed-out and flattened buildings, of which only one thing remained: a closet.

"I'm like that closet in Borodianka," Zelenska said.

"I'm trying to hold on, just like that closet."

-- CNN's Tim Lister contributed to this report.

war in ukraine