Three Russian cosmonauts are set to launch to the International Space Station on Friday, a normally routine mission to the orbiting outpost that is now taking place against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Scrutiny over the planned liftoff has grown as the conflict in Ukraine has strained relations between Russia and its space station partners, including NASA, and has called into question the future of the iconic orbiting lab.

Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov are scheduled to launch aboard a Soyuz rocket and capsule at 11:55 a.m. ET from Russia's spaceport, the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in southern Kazakhstan.

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The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, denounced Russia on Friday for what she called false allegations that Ukraine performs biological weapons research and has U.S. support for the effort. 

At a U.N. Security Council meeting, she said the Russian representative to the United Nations went on a "tirade of bizarre conspiracy theories" last week and this week "we're hearing a whole lot more where that came from — things that sound like they were forwarded to him on a chain email from some dark corner of the internet."

"President Biden has a word for this kind of talk: malarkey," she said. 

Thomas-Greenfield reiterated that despite Russia's claims, Ukraine does not have a biological weapons program.

"There are no Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories — not near Russia's border, not anywhere. There are only public health facilities, proudly — and I say proudly — supported and recognized by the U.S. government, the World Health Organization, and other governments and international institutions," she said. "In fact, it is Russia that has long maintained a biological weapons program in violation of international law. It is Russia that has a well-documented history of using chemical weapons. It is Russia who is the aggressor here."

The ambassador said the U.S. has deep concerns that Russia's decision to call Friday's meeting over the allegations "is a potential false flag effort in action." 

"Russia has repeatedly — repeatedly — accused other countries of the very violations it plans to perpetrate. We continue to believe it is possible that Russia may be planning to use chemical or biological agents against the Ukrainian people," she said. 

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is leading nine of her U.S. Senate colleagues in a bipartisan visit to Poland and Germany this weekend.

Ernst will be joined by Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, Steve Daines of Montana, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Angus King of Maine, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Jacky Rosen of Nevada. 

"This strong, bipartisan delegation proves the Senate stands united in its support for Ukraine," the 10 senators said in a joint statement. "During our time in Poland and Germany, we will have the opportunity to gain greater insight on the U.S. and NATO response through engagements with top military leaders."

"We will return with better insight on how Congress can and should continue to support the Ukrainian people and our NATO allies, and see firsthand the heartbreaking humanitarian impact of Putin’s war of aggression," the senators added.

At least 816 civilians have died since Russia invaded Ukraine last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement Friday.

Seven girls and 16 boys were among the dead, the statement said, although it added that it believed the actual figures were "considerably higher," because many reports were still pending corroboration and others had been delayed. A further 1,333 civilians had been injured in the conflict, it said. NBC News has not independently confirms these numbers.

"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the statement said. 

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have announced the expulsion of a total of 10 Russian diplomats. Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was expelling three diplomatic staff members of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn. In a tweet on Friday, it said they had "directly and actively undermined Estonia's security" and had "spread propaganda justifying Russia's illegal warfare."

Latvia's foreign ministry said it was also expelling three diplomats "in solidarity with Ukraine."

Lithuania echoed that sentiment in a statement published online declaring four employees of the Russian Embassy as "personae non gratae." 

All three countries are members of NATO.

Burger King is moving to divest its 15 percent stake in its Russian business, but the burger chain said it can’t legally suspend operations in the market right away.

The Restaurant Brands International chain announced last week it was suspending all corporate support for its 800-plus franchised locations in Russia in response to the Kremlin’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine. The suspension includes refusing approvals for further investment or expansion and pausing operations, marketing and its supply chain.

But the company’s International President David Shear laid out in an open letter to employees on Thursday that the structure of the company’s Russian business hampers its ability to shutter restaurants in the market like some of its competitors.

“Would we like to suspend all Burger King operations immediately in Russia? Yes. Are we able to enforce a suspension of operations today? No,” Shear said.

Burger King entered Russia through a joint venture with businessperson Alexander Kolobov, Investment Capital Ukraine and VTB Capital, which has been hit by U.S. sanctions as an affiliate of a major Russian bank.

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It was a desperate plea from a city under siege: "CHILDREN" in huge bold letters.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies, a U.S. Defense contractor, this week showed the word clearly written in front of and behind a theater that Ukraine says was sheltering women and children in the port city of Mariupol.

But on Wednesday, the building was blown up with hundreds of civilians inside, according to the Mariupol City Council. "Russians could not have not known this was a civilian shelter," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

The number of casualties is not yet known — and the Kremlin denies targeting civilians — but experts say the incident is an indication that Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned to a familiar and pitiless playbook.

With his troops bogged down in the mud, running out of food and fuel and hemorrhaging casualties, many analysts believe that Putin's battle plan is in the mire — and in desperation he has pivoted to the brutal tactics used in the Russian republic of Chechnya in 1999 and in Syria in 2015.

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