Russia's efforts are aimed at destroying Kharkiv to force people to leave the city. Separate missile and bomb attacks are targeting the city's energy infrastructure, The Wall Street Journal notes.
“Putin still wants Kharkiv,” noted Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv Military Administration.
Russia has deployed only a fraction of the forces needed for a possible assault, which is estimated to take up to half a million troops.
Oleksandr Lytvynenko, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, warns that Russia may pursue a strategy similar to the one used in 2016 in Aleppo, Syria, when Russian forces destroyed electricity and water supplies, hospitals, and schools, displacing a third of the population.
Over the past week, rockets and bombs have hit a printing house and a hypermarket, killing more than 25 people.
City officials are encouraging residents to heed air raid warnings and avoid public places, although evacuations are not currently considered necessary.
