KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian missile strike that smashed a prominent skyline television tower in Kharkiv was part of the Kremlin's effort to intimidate Ukraine's second-largest city, which in recent weeks has come under increasingly frequent attack.
The strike sought to "make the terror visible to the whole city and to try to limit Kharkiv's connection and access to information," Zelenskyy said in a Monday evening address.
The northeastern Kharkiv region straddles the approximately 600-mile front line where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked in battle for more than two years since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The front line has changed little during a war of attrition, focused mostly on artillery, drones and trenches.
Since late March, Russia has stepped up the pressure on Kharkiv, apparently aiming to exploit Ukraine's shortage of air defense systems. It has pounded the local power grid and hit apartment blocks.
On Monday, a Russian Kh-59 missile struck Kharkiv's 820-foot-high TV tower, breaking it roughly in half and halting transmissions.
A Washington think tank said Russia may be weighing a ground assault on Kharkiv.
"The Kremlin is conducting a concerted air and information operation to destroy Kharkiv City, convince Ukrainians to flee, and internally displace millions of Ukrainians ahead of a possible future Russian offensive operation against the city or elsewhere in Ukraine," the Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment.
The expected arrival in Ukraine in coming weeks of new military aid from its Western partners possibly has prompted Russia to escalate its attacks before the help arrives, the institute said, adding that trying to capture Kharkiv would be "a significant challenge" for the Kremlin's forces.
Instead, the Russian military command "may attempt to destroy Kharkiv City with air, missile, and drone strikes and prompt a large-scale internal displacement of Ukrainian civilians," it said.
"Four priorities are key: defense of the sky, modern artillery, long-range capacity, and to ensure that packages of American aid arrive as soon as possible," Zelenskyy said.
European Union countries that have Patriot air defense systems gave no clear sign Monday that they might be willing to send them to Ukraine, which is desperately seeking at least seven of the missile batteries.
Ukraine's army is also heavily outnumbered in the fight, and expanding the country's mobilization has been a delicate issue.
In an attempt to shore up its troop shortages, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it would restrict consular services for Ukrainian men of military fighting age who have left the country, potentially cutting off their ability to renew passports or access other essential citizen services.
Thousands of Ukrainian men are believed to have left their country rather than risk being drafted to help defend against Russia's continuing invasion, even though martial law bars men age 18 and over from traveling abroad. Thousands of others were already living abroad, typically to work or study, when Russia invaded in February 2022.
The restriction in consular services is in keeping with a recently adopted law on military mobilization, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Those living outside Ukraine, who are able to fight, should not expect the same treatment as those who have remained in Ukraine -- a restoration of "fair attitudes toward men of conscription age in Ukraine and abroad," Kuleba posted.
"Staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the Homeland," Kuleba wrote. However, he did not give further details about the changes, saying only that the ministry would "provide further clarifications" in the near future.
Meanwhile, Russia launched 16 Shahed drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles over Ukraine's southern and central regions, the Ukrainian air force said Tuesday morning. It said all but one of the drones were intercepted.
In Odesa, an overnight attack injured nine people, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said. Among those injured were two infants and two children aged 9 and 12, Kiper said. Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said 58 apartments in 22 buildings were damaged.
In other developments, a Russian missile strike near Dnipro, Ukraine's fourth-largest city, injured four people who were admitted to hospital, regional Gov. Serhii Lysak said.
Information for this article was contributed by Illia Novikov of The Associated Press; and by David L. Stern and Serhiy Morgunov of the Washington Post.