US and NATO officials monitoring the battle in Ukraine noticed a significant shift in Russia's policy earlier this week, with Moscow now threatening to "bombard cities into submission," perhaps resulting in severe civilian casualties,  as per CNN reports.

"The bigger weapons are heavier not only in terms of their weight, but also in terms of the damage they can cause," one of the officers said. "They're also less discriminatory. As a result, there will be more casualties." The insider went on to say, "It's a very rudimentary approach."

The report said, US officials have cautioned that Russia's approach appears to be turning from focusing largely on military targets to targeting civilians, as a result of the realisation that an early plan to quickly conquer Kyiv and overthrow the government had failed.

"As the Russian armed forces send in more weaponry and continue their attacks across the country, the days ahead are likely to be worse, with more death, misery, and destruction," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday.  According to a top Western intelligence officer, huge civilian deaths, "vast loss of human life," are likely in the days ahead, according to the Washington Post.

In a Facebook address late Friday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed NATO's decision to rule out the installation of a no-fly zone above the country.

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