Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia lays siege to another Ukrainian city, raising fears of a new humanitarian disaster

President Biden on Friday is set to call on Congress to end normal trade relations between the United States and Russia, opening the door for the administration to impose new tariffs in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The United States is set to announce the move in tandem with the Group of Seven countries and the European Union, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the still unannounced plans. The effort marks a further escalation in the global strategy to impose maximum economic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Twitter plans to add labels to state-owned media outlets from Belarus, the latest effort by Silicon Valley companies to limit the spread of pro-Russian propaganda on their platforms.

Twitter has been labeling tweets that include links from Russian state-controlled media. Those labels, the company said, have reduced the reach of these channels by 30 percent. They tell users that the news outlet is controlled by a particular government, so users understand that the content reflects that government’s viewpoint.

Now Twitter will add those labels to content from about 15 media outlets controlled by Belarus, a close Russian ally in the region.

Facebook, TikTok and YouTube blocked Russian state-owned media outlets in Europe late last month after requests from governments there.

Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces carried out strikes overnight Thursday in two cities located in western Ukraine, as well as in Dnipro, in central Ukraine, amid fears that the Kremlin could be seeking to expand a military assault that has been largely concentrated elsewhere.

Officials in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk said the two cities — situated close to NATO members Poland, Hungary and Slovakia — were hit with multiple explosions. The mayor of Lutsk said in a video that the local airport came under Russian attack and at least one person was killed. Ruslan Martsinkiv, mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk, urged residents to head to air raid shelters in the early morning after sirens apparently failed to go off.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted Friday that Dnipro was also attacked. According to the state emergency response agency, a kindergarten, an apartment building and a nearby shoe factory were hit. The specifics of the claim could not be immediately independently confirmed.

“Ukrainian big cities are again subjected to devastating blows,” Podolyak said. “Russia’s destructive war against civilians and major cities continues.”

Kazakhstan, a Central Asian nation that is closely allied with Russia, has said it will send more than 80 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

The country will dispatch medical supplies worth about $2.25 million after receiving a request from Kyiv, Kazakhstan said in a statement posted on the website of its embassy in Brussels. The move comes after Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his country was ready to send humanitarian aid in a phone call this week with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Kazakhstan was one of the 35 countries to abstain from the U.N. General Assembly vote on a resolution that demanded Russia withdraw its forces from Ukraine. The resolution passed with 141 countries voting in favor and five, including Russia, voting against. Kazakhstan, like Ukraine, was part of the former Soviet Union and has attempted to build a national identity distinct from its Russian-ruled past.

Mass demonstrations erupted in Kazakhstan earlier this year, partly because of public frustration with the country’s sclerotic and authoritarian political system. Kazakhstan is a member of a defense alliance helmed by Russia, which led a contingent of 2,500 troops that deployed to Kazakhstan to help quell the deadly protests.

A large, lumbering convoy of Russian military vehicles that was stalled for days near the Hostomel airport, on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv, appears to be dispersing and redeploying, according to satellite images taken Thursday morning local time.

The images, captured and distributed by U.S. firm Maxar Technologies, indicate that some of these Russian forces have been repositioned to towns including Berestyanka and Ivankiv. In Lubyanka, about 20 miles from the center of Kyiv, Russian military equipment is shown deployed along tree lines, with towed artillery set up in firing position. On Friday morning, the British Defence Ministry said that Russia appeared to be re-posturing its troops and could soon launch new operations against Kyiv.

The Pentagon assessed Thursday that the lead of the column was about nine miles from Kyiv’s center, down from about 12 for the past several days. A senior U.S. defense official described the movement of the column as “creeping,” and said it is “very difficult” to predict how long it could take for Russian forces to make more serious movement.

Since the early days of Moscow’s invasion, Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers have dug trenches and set up positions and equipment — including an antiaircraft gun — to prepare for the potential arrival of Russian troops in the capital. But this extended parade of Russian armored vehicles, tanks and towed artillery — originally 40 miles long — failed to make significant advances toward Kyiv, probably because of logistical failures on the Russian side as well as Ukrainian attacks on some parts of the convoy.

Russia is likely to renew its offensive “in the coming days,” including against Kyiv, the U.K. Defense Ministry said Friday in its daily intelligence update. Russian forces are still making “limited progress,” partly because of logistical problems and strong Ukrainian resistance, it added.

Troops have been surrounding and bombarding Ukraine’s capital city for days. Ukrainian forces have held out so far, in one of Europe’s worst land battles since World War II.

Russia appears to have made slower than planned advances in its invasion of Ukraine, which began Feb. 24. Russian detachments have suffered roughly 500 deaths, with 1,600 wounded, Moscow has said. Ukraine has said Russian casualties are above 12,000.

Russia’s proposal to nationalize foreign-owned businesses that have fled the country over its invasion of Ukraine may “ultimately result in even more economic pain” for Moscow, White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Thursday.

Calling such a decision “lawless,” Psaki said seizing foreign companies’ assets would make it even harder for Russia to attract future investment. While American and international firms should decide for themselves whether to suspend or exit the Russian market, she said, the Biden administration welcomes the departures because they indicate that the business world wants “no part of Russia’s war of choice against Ukraine.”

In the past two weeks, international brands in the consumer, tech and financial sectors have announced Russian boycotts, leaving the Kremlin possibly unnerved about the blowback on employment opportunities as well as other economic woes inflicted by the corporate exodus. Russian President Vladimir Putin has endorsed the bid to take over foreign-owned property, and the Russian parliament will discuss it in a Friday session.

Major companies that have recently halted operations in Russia or severed ties with Russia-based clients include Goldman Sachs, Boeing and McDonald’s.

Russian forces remain stalled around Kyiv and are suffering similar setbacks in their attempts to seize Sumy in the north and Mykolaiv in the south.

Meanwhile, the siege and bombardment of Mariupol continue, causing a humanitarian crisis its mayor likened to “Armageddon.”