Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on April 9 visited the Kharkiv region to inspect defensive fortifications and issue another appeal for more military aid from Ukraine's Western backers in light of daily shelling of the region by the Russian military.
"Kharkiv region is a very important area. We have to be prepared. And the Russians must see that we are ready to defend ourselves," Zelensky said in a statement on his website.
Regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said that the fortifications consisted of an extensive system of trenches, dugouts, and other types of shelters. Blockades being set up in the region include rows of concrete pyramids known as dragon's teeth, and anti-tank ditches.
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Ukraine will do everything it can to better protect the city from Russian attacks, Zelenskiy said, adding that the military leadership had a solution to strengthen Kharkiv's air defenses.
Later on April 9, the U.S. State Department announced an emergency $138 million in foreign military sales for Ukraine to provide critical repairs and spare parts for Hawk medium-range, surface-to-air missile systems, which provide air defense.
The announcement came after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a congressional hearing that without Washington's support, the United States risks that Ukraine will fall to Russia.
"Ukraine matters, and the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine will have global implications for our national security as well," Austin said.
Both the State Department and Defense Department have been pushing Congress to pass a $60 billion aid package that has been stalled in the U.S. Congress for months amid domestic political wrangling.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Kharkiv have intensified in recent weeks. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said recently that Russian troops often fire S-300s at Kharkiv from the Belgorod region of Russia, and these missiles reach the city in 40 seconds. Iranian-made Shahed drones are also being used more and more often.
Ukraine is struggling to protect its cities from incoming Russian missiles, drones, and bombs amid shortages of crucial ammunition and air-defense systems.
WATCH: At least one woman was killed and three others wounded in the Ukrainian town of Bilopillya, in the Sumy region, after the Russian military dropped four guided bombs in the center of the town, local officials said on April 8.
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Zelenskiy has been demanding on an almost daily basis that Kyiv's Western backers increase their supplies of arms.
"Kharkiv needs robust defense. There is a solution to Russia's constant terror. We need air-defense systems and missiles for them," Zelenskiy said earlier.
"The world has no right to remain indifferent while Russia deliberately destroys the city day after day and kills people in their homes," he said.
Zelenskiy held meetings during his visit to Kharkiv on the defense of critical infrastructure and the functioning of energy systems in the Kharkiv region.
He met with the commander of the air force, General Mykola Oleshchuk, to discuss "the organization of a new scheme for the protection of Kharkiv from the air with the involvement of additional air defense equipment."
He also met with Synyehubov, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, and Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, chairman of Ukrenerho, who reported on the consequences of Russian shelling on energy generating capacities and the current situation with electricity supply.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said there were 66 combat clashes during the day on the front line. It said the situation in the north "did not change significantly during the day."
In eastern Donetsk, Russian forces continued their attempt to break through Ukrainian defenses in several comminities west of Avdiyivka, and in southern Kherson region, the General Staff said Russian forces continue to try to knock Ukrainian forces from bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper River.
Ukraine's air force said earlier it destroyed all 20 drones launched by Russia early on April 9 at seven of its regions -- Mykolayiv, Odesa, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Vinnytsya, and Lviv.
Russia's Defense Ministry meanwhile said its forces had destroyed a Ukrainian anti-ship Neptune missile over the Black Sea and four drones over the Belgorod and Voronezh regions.
Neither report could be independently confirmed immediately.