Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

In an unprecedented move, the U.N. General Assembly has voted to suspend Russia from the body’s Human Rights Council, marking the first time a permanent member of the U.N.’s Security Council has ever been removed from a post within the international organization.

To pass, the measure needed two-thirds approval from the voting members of the General Assembly. Ninety-three countries voted in favor of the resolution. Twenty-four voted against it and 58 abstained.

Before the vote, a chorus of countries aligned with Russia aired their grievances, including Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Syria and Cuba.

China's U.N. envoy Zhang Jun said it would side with Russia out of opposition to “exerting pressure on other countries in the name of human rights,” saying the measure would “deprive a country’s legitimate membership in the Human Rights Council.” Jun also expressed disapproval for the sanctions the West has levied against Russia.

Russia’s suspension is the result of a U.S.-led effort launched as a direct response to horrific images of corpses left behind in Bucha and other towns after Russian forces withdrew. While Russia has denied responsibility, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said Russia must be held accountable.

The Human Rights Council is currently investigating allegations of war crimes, though Russia voted against the inquiry, calling it a “waste of resources.”

This is only the second time that any country has had its membership revoked from the Human Rights Council. Libya was suspended in 2011 because of violence towards protestors by military forces loyal to then-leader Muammar Gaddafi.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

The Senate has unanimously passed two pieces of legislation aimed at further damaging Russia's economy.

The first bill, passed by a rare 100-0 vote on the Senate floor, suspends Russia's and Belarus' permanent normal trade status with the U.S.

"No nation whose military is committing war crimes deserves free trade status with the United States," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor Thursday.

The second bill, which also passed unanimously, codifies what the administration has already announced: a ban on the import of Russian oil to the U.S.

Negotiations over both pieces of legislation stalled for weeks as senators fought over certain provisions. Schumer on Wednesday called it a "big, big deal" that the bills would pass before the Senate departs for Easter recess at the end of the week.

Both bills were previously passed by the House, but have since been modified by the Senate. So the legislation now heads back to the House where members will take up the bills Thursday.

-ABC News' Allie Pecorin

Ukrainian officials claimed Thursday that Russian troops are deporting health care workers and other residents in the beiseged port city of Mariupol to Russia-held territory.

Mariupol City Council said in a statement that "the occupiers have forcibly removed" staff and patients from a hospital and taken them to Russia-controlled separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said in another statement that, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, at least 40,000 Mariupol residents have been deported to other cities, mostly in Russia. He noted that his administration is creating a database of deported residents as part of efforts to bring them home.

Mariupol, a strategic southeastern port city in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, has been largely reduced to rubble after more than a month of heavy Russian bombardment. According to the Ukrainian military, fierce fighting against Russian forces continued Thursday in Mariupol as well as the cities of Popasna, Rubizhne and Severodonetsk in the neighboring Luhansk Oblast of eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday that time is of the essence in providing weapons to Ukraine.

"We have no doubts that in the end, Ukraine will get everything that it needs, and we will overcome all of the reluctance and hesitation coming from some allies when it comes to specifics weapons, but the issue of timeline is crucial," Kuleba said, eliciting an affirmative hum from Blinken. "I'm looking forward to our conversation today to discuss the timeline of supplies of the weapons which are needed to defend Ukraine."

Kuleba praised the U.S. as a "real" friend for its "ironclad support" and "leadership" in imposing sanctions on Russia and "reaching out" to countries that haven't taken a firm stance against Russia's invasion.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan