“No one will ever forgive. Nobody will forget,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared following the violence on Kharkiv’s square.

President Joe Biden of the United States planned to use Tuesday evening’s State of the Union speech to vow to make Russian President Vladimir Putin “pay a price” for the invasion. Biden’s objective was to demonstrate the resolve of a resurgent Western alliance that has fought to rearm Ukraine’s military and enact strong sanctions.

“Throughout history, we have learned this lesson: when dictators escape punishment for their aggressiveness, they wreak havoc,” Biden was scheduled to say, according to advance excerpts distributed by the White House. “They continue to move. And the costs and dangers to America and the world continue to escalate.”

Biden was also scheduled to announce the United States’ decision to close its airspace to Russian planes in punishment for the invasion, according to two people familiar with the decision. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to prepare for the address.

Meanwhile, a convoy of hundreds of Russian tanks and other vehicles pushed slowly toward Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city of over 3 million people, in what the West suspected was a bid by Putin to destabilize the government and install a Kremlin-friendly dictatorship.

Additionally, the invading armies intensified their attack on additional towns and cities, including the vital southern ports of Odesa and Mariupol.

Day 6 of Europe’s largest ground battle since World War II sees Russia growing increasingly isolated, besieged by sanctions that have wreaked havoc on the economy and left the country almost friendless, save for a few nations such as China, Belarus, and North Korea.

While combat raged in Ukraine, the death toll remained unknown. According to one senior Western intelligence official, almost 5,000 Russian soldiers had been detained or killed. Ukraine did not provide an aggregate estimate of troop losses.

The United Nations human rights office reported 136 civilian deaths. The true cost is believed to be significantly higher.

The British Defense Ministry reported an uptick in Russian air and artillery strikes against densely populated urban areas during the last two days. Additionally, it stated that Russian forces had encircled three cities – Kharkiv, Kherson, and Mariupol.

Numerous military experts are concerned that Russia’s strategy may be altering. Moscow’s plan in Chechnya and Syria was to demolish cities and crush the resolve of fighters with artillery and airstrikes.

Five persons were killed, according to Ukrainian authorities, in the attack on the TV tower, which is located a few miles from central Kyiv and a short walk from multiple apartment buildings. A television control room and a power substation were struck, officials reported, and at least some Ukrainian channels briefly ceased transmitting.

The bombing occurred following Russia’s announcement that it would target Ukraine’s spy agency’s transmission facilities. It asked those living near such locations to vacate their homes.

Additionally, Zelenskyy’s office claimed a significant missile attack on the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial, which is located near the tower. A memorial spokesperson said that a Jewish cemetery on the site, where Nazi occupiers murdered over 33,000 Jews over two days in 1941, had been damaged, but the extent of the damage would not be known until daylight.

At least six persons were murdered in Kharkiv, a city of over 1.5 million people when the region’s Soviet-era administration building on Freedom Square was struck by what was suspected to be a missile.

Slovenia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the bombing destroyed its consulate in Kharkiv, which was housed in another huge building on the square. The consulate’s entrance was sandwiched between a jewelry store and a bank.

Many Ukrainians viewed the strike on Freedom Square — Ukraine’s largest plaza and the epicenter of public life in the capital — as audacious proof that the Russian invasion was not just about hitting military objectives but also about shattering their spirit.

The shelling destroyed the windows and walls of the buildings that surround the vast area, which was already heaped high with rubble and dust. Within one structure, bits of plaster were thrown throughout, and doors had been wrenched from their hinges and strewn across passageways.

“There are people beneath the ruins. We have extracted bodies,” emergency officer Yevhen Vasylenko stated.

Zelenskyy described the square attack as “blatant, undisguised fear” and a war crime. “This is Russian Federation state terrorism,” he stated.

Later, in an emotional address to the European Parliament, Zelenskyy stated: “We are also fighting for equal membership in Europe.” Today, I believe, we are demonstrating to the world who we are.”

Another Russian airstrike struck a residential area in the city of Zhytomyr near a hospital, Mayor Serih Sukhomlin stated in a Facebook video. Ukraine’s emergency services reported that Tuesday’s hit killed at least two individuals, set fire to three residences, and shattered hospital windows. Zhytomyr is located approximately 85 miles (140 kilometers) west of Kyiv and is home to the elite 95th Air Assault Brigade, which was possibly the intended target.

Zelenskyy reported that 16 children were murdered across Ukraine on Monday, mocking Russia’s assertion that it is targeting solely military objectives.

“Where have all the children gone? Which types of military factories are they employed at? Which tanks are they targeting?” According to Zelenskyy.

Human Rights Watch reported that it just documented a cluster bomb attack outside a hospital in eastern Ukraine. Residents of Kharkiv and the town of Kiyanka also alleged the deployment of cluster bombs. The Kremlin denied the use of cluster bombs.

Cluster bombs disperse smaller “bomblets” over a vast region, with many of them remaining dormant for an extended period after they are dropped. If their deployment in Ukraine is confirmed, it will bring a new degree of cruelty to the conflict and may result in Russia’s further isolation.

Russia and Ukraine conducted their first discussions since the invasion on Monday, but the negotiations ended with simply a commitment to meet again. However, Zelenskyy stated on Tuesday that Russia should first halt the bombing.

“As for the discussion, I believe it is necessary, but we must first stop bombarding people and then begin negotiating,” he told CNN.

Moscow has issued new escalation threats, only days after raising the possibility of nuclear war. According to a senior Kremlin official, the West’s “economic war” against Russia could devolve into a “real one.”

Within Russia, a prominent anti-Kremlin radio station was forced to shut down when authorities threatened to shut it down for its coverage of the invasion. Among other things, the Kremlin has forbidden the use of the terms “invasion” or “war” about combat.

Around 660,000 people have fled Ukraine, and tens of thousands more have sought refuge underground. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been left without drinking water as a result of bomb damage, according to United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths.

“It’s a nightmare, and it engulfs you from the inside. This cannot be conveyed in words,” said Ekaterina Babenko, a Kharkiv resident who has taken refuge in a basement with neighbors for the fifth consecutive day. “We have little children and senior residents, and it’s rather terrifying.”

Belarusian troops joined the conflict Tuesday in the northern Chernihiv region, a Ukrainian military officer said, without providing details. However, shortly before it, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that his country had no intention of joining the conflict.

In terms of the Russians’ approach to the capital, the convoy’s leading edge was 17 miles (25 kilometers) from the city center, according to Maxar Technologies satellite imagery.

According to a senior US defense official, Russia’s military progress – including the big convoy – has stalled as a result of logistical and supply issues. According to the official, some Russian military columns have run out of gas and food, lowering morale.

In general, the Russian military has been stymied by robust ground resistance and an unexpected inability to entirely command Ukraine’s skies.

The massive convoy, which would appear to be “a huge fat target” for Ukrainian forces, a senior Western intelligence officer said on condition of anonymity.

“However, it demonstrates that the Russians are quite comfortable being out in the open in these quantities since they believe they will not be attacked by air, rocket, or missile,” the official added.

Ukrainians have made every effort to halt Russia’s march. Residents piled truck tires filled with sand and covered with sandbags along a highway between Odesa and Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine to obstruct convoys.

From Moscow, Isachenkov and Litvinova reported. Mstyslav Chernov contributed reporting from Mariupol, Ukraine; Sergei Grits from Odesa, Ukraine; Robert Burns, Zeke Miller, and Eric Tucker from Washington; Francesca Ebel, Josef Federman, and Andrew Drake from Kyiv; Lorne Cook from Brussels; and other AP journalists from around the world.