Russia's ground forces in Ukraine are making "limited progress," but are likely setting up for renewed attacks, including against the capital of Kyiv, the United Kingdom's defense ministry said Friday.

"Russia is likely seeking to reset and re-posture its forces for renewed offensive activity in the coming days. This will probably include operations against the capital Kyiv," the U.K. said in an update.

Russian forces attacked Ukraine two weeks ago, but have been met with strong resistance, the U.K. said in its assessment.

A United States assessment as of Thursday was that Russian forces were still capable of encircling Kyiv in one to two weeks, but that if there is a fight for the city it could take much longer, a U.S. official said.

President Joe Biden on Friday will call for an end to normal trade relations with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, clearing the way for increased tariffs on Russian imports, five people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

The move would mark the latest escalation of a push by the U.S. and its allies to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the largest war in Europe since World War II.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation.”

Read the full story here. 

The White House responded Thursday night to reports that Russia could be considering seizing the assets of U.S. companies, warning that the country risked even greater economic harm and isolation.

The Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that the government was considering a proposal to nationalize assets of companies that have said they are pulling out of Russia, according to The Associated Press.

"Any lawless decision by Russia to seize the assets of these companies will ultimately result in even more economic pain for Russia," White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Thursday night.

"It will compound the clear message to the global business community that Russia is not a safe place to invest and do business," she wrote.

Starbucks, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are among the iconic U.S. companies that have announced plans to suspend some or all operations in Russia in protest of its attack on neighboring Ukraine. 

The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday that it was halting all business in Russia after it decided last week to pause the release of films.

The U.S., other countries and the European Union have also responded to the attack by imposing punishing sanctions aimed at Russia and President Vladimir Putin himself.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of deliberately attacking the besieged city of Mariupol to prevent the evacuation of residents and the arrival of aid.

The president said in a video message Thursday that a tank attack prevented a humanitarian convoy to the southern city, where, aid organizations say, hundreds of thousands of people are without power, heat, water or food.

Zelenskyy also accused Russia of destroying a building near where Mariupol residents were supposed to gather for evacuation.

"This is outright terror," Zelenskyy said. He pledged further efforts to help the people of the city. "To the people of Mariupol: We are fighting. And we will not leave this struggle," he said.

Attempts to evacuate the city of around 440,000 have repeatedly failed. Volnovakha is also blockaded, he said. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, "These cities are a real humanitarian catastrophe."

The Senate passed a massive $1.5 trillion spending bill Thursday that would prevent a government shutdown and provide $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine.

The legislation passed 68-31 after it received House approval Wednesday. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure into law before government funding runs out Friday night.

The bipartisan spending measure would fund the federal government through Sept. 30, with increases for both defense and nondefense programs over 2021 levels.

The funding includes billions to aid Ukraine, where over 2 million people have been forced from their homes since Russia invaded last month. The Ukraine-related spending includes money for humanitarian aid and $6.5 billion for the Defense Department — $3.5 billion to replenish equipment sent to Ukraine and $3 billion for U.S. troops who are helping NATO member states in Europe. It also provides money to support Ukraine’s energy grid and to combat disinformation.

Read the full story here. 

More than 1 million children have fled Ukraine since Russia attacked more than two weeks ago, UNICEF said Thursday as it again called for humanitarian corridors and more aid to the region.

"Children are leaving everything they know behind in search of safety. This is heart-breaking," Afshan Khan, UNICEF's regional director for Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement.

More than 2 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the U.N. has said, in what has been called the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

At least 549 civilians have been killed, including 41 children, according to the U.N.'s human rights office. Another 957 people have been injured, including 52 children.

Those are just the civilian casualties recorded by the office, and many other reports are pending further corroboration or are delayed because of the fighting, it said. "Actual toll is much higher," the U.N. human rights office said Thursday.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, said Thursday in a tweet that more than 70 children have been killed. 

NBC News has not independently verified the number of deaths.

As the Russian attack on Ukraine rages on, there are an estimated 240,000 pregnant women in Ukraine. A reported 80,000 of them will be delivering babies in the next three months, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

Many of those women will join the more than 2 million Ukrainians who have fled the country. Others simply cannot leave, forced to give birth in bomb shelters without any medication. Some have even been targeted by Russian missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — on Wednesday, video appeared to show what was left of a maternity and children's hospital in Mariupol. The video showed a pregnant woman being evacuated in a makeshift stretcher, one hand holding her stomach as the other reached for the arm of a man helping to carry her.

U.S. intelligence officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin will only "double down" on the violence, making the future even more dire for pregnant Ukrainians who are preparing to give birth at a time of war.

"They need the war to stop," Jaime Nadal, a U.N. Population Fund representative in Ukraine, told TODAY Parents. "They need to go back to a situation where birth can be a joyful moment for them, as well as the rest of their families. And regrettably, that is not something that is in sight at this point. On the contrary, what we see is the situation worsening by the moment."

Read the full story here. 

Around 60,000 people have been evacuated from Sumy Oblast, particularly from the city of Sumy, in the last three days amid Russia's attack on the country, a Ukrainian government official said.

Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the head of the regional government for the oblast, which is an administrative region, said around 80,000 people overall have been evacuated from cities in Ukraine in the last three days.

But in the besieged city of Mariupol, in the southeastern Donetsk region, evacuation efforts have failed, and Ukraine has accused Russian forces of violating cease-fire agreements.

The situation there is increasingly desperate, and hundreds of thousands of people have no heat, electricity, food or water, the Red Cross said.

A hospital was shelled, killing three people, in an attack that was condemned and called a possible war crime. At least three people were killed and 17 others were wounded, Ukraine's president said.