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

At a press conference Thursday Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared graphic details of atrocities in Ukraine allegedly carried out by Russian forces.

He spoke of how Russian troops gathered about 40 people in a town square in Bucha and allegedly executed one young man.

He described how one woman in Kharkiv, sheltering with her neighbors and daughters, reported being taken by a Russian soldier to an empty classroom, where he allegedly cut her face and neck with a knife, raped her at gunpoint and threatened to kill her.

"With each day, more and more credible reports of rape, killings, torture are emerging. And for every Bucha, there are many more towns Russia has occupied and more towns it is still occupying -- places where, we must assume, Russian soldiers are committing more atrocities right now," Blinken said.

"The sickening images and accounts coming out of Bucha and other parts of Ukraine have only strengthened our collective resolve and unity," Blinken said as he detailed several steps the U.S. and its allies are taking, including tightening sanctions, sending more lethal aid to Ukraine and collecting evidence of war crimes.

Blinken was pressed repeatedly on what more allies can do to help Ukrainee. He didn't have any announcements, but defended Western aid, saying they've provided the weapons and systems that Ukraine can use most effectively, that its forces are already trained on, and that can be transferred fast.

Blinken vowed, "We're not going to let anything stand in the way of getting Ukrainians what they need and what we believe can be effective. So we're looking across the board right now not only at what we've provided and continue to provide, but whether there are additional systems that would make a difference and that we can provide them."

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

The House voted 420-3 Thursday on the Senate-passed bill to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus.

Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky voted against the bill, which would allow the Biden administration to raise tariffs on certain goods but have a limited economic impact on Russia.

The bill stalled in the Senate for weeks over Republican Sen. Rand Paul's concerns about human rights language being too broadly written.

The House also approved the symbolic ban on Russian energy imports into the U.S. The Biden administration has already implemented the ban through executive order.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Thursday that there's no indication of a Russian retreat. Instead, he said Russia is regrouping and repositioning forces to the east, warning that "a big Russian offensive" is expected in the Donbas region in southeastern Ukraine.

Stoltenberg also warned that the war could last for "months and possibly also for years."

"If the war is going to drag on and be long, then the risk is first and foremost for the people of Ukraine," he said, acknowledging that as long as the war continues, there will be a risk of escalation beyond Ukraine.

"And that's exactly what NATO is focused on -- is to prevent that escalation," he said.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

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