The comments by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to Russian newspaper Izvestia were the latest in a series of statements this week stressing Russia is open to talks - a change of tone that follows a series of humiliating defeats for Russian forces as the war in Ukraine nears the end of its eighth month.

"The direction has not changed, the special military operation continues, it continues in order for us to achieve our goals," Peskov was quoted as saying.

"However we have repeatedly reiterated that we remain open to negotiations to achieve our objectives.

Peskov added, however, that he did not see any prospects for talks with the United States and its European allies in the near future because of their "hostile" attitude towards Russia.

"It takes two sides to have a dialogue. As the West is now taking a very, very hostile stance towards us, it's unlikely that there will be any such prospect in the near future," Peskov told Kazakhstan's Khabar 24 TV channel, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

"Nevertheless, Turkey, as well as a number of other countries, continue to try to mediate in some way."

While Russia has said before that it is prepared to negotiate, the repeated references this week to the possibility of dialogue are striking.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia was open to talks but the US dismissed the statement as "posturing".

Lavrov returned to the issue on Thursday, telling Izvestia: "We will not run after anyone. If there are specific serious proposals, we are ready to consider them."

He added: "When we get some sort of signal, we will be ready to consider it."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ruled out talking to President Vladimir Putin after Russia proclaimed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions last month and rained missiles on Ukrainian cities this week following an attack on a vital bridge between Russia and annexed Crimea.

Meanwhile, the governor of a Russian border region accused Ukraine of shelling an apartment block there on Thursday but an official in Kyiv said a stray Russian missile was to blame, in only one of a series of apparent strikes on Russian border towns.

Vyacheslav Gladkov said a school had been damaged in a village close to the border and that the top floor of an apartment block had been struck in the city of Belgorod.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter that Russia had launched a missile towards the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv but "something went wrong and it hit (a) residential building".

Video showed rubble next to a 16-storey apartment block with a large rupture near its roof.

Reuters could not independently establish who was to blame.

Gladkov said no one had been hurt.

Separately, Gladkov said that a border post in the frontier town of Shebekino, which adjoins Ukraine's eastern region of Kharkiv, and an ammunition depot near Belgorod city had been destroyed in Ukrainian strikes.

He said that there had been no casualties in either strike.

Australian Associated Press