LIVE UPDATES: One of Key Goals of Russia's Op in Ukraine is to Avert Threat of WW III, Kremlin Says

"I applaud the overwhelming vote today in the General Assembly of the United Nations to kick Russia off the UN Human Rights Council," Biden said on Thursday.

Biden said the vote marks a meaningful step by the international community further demonstrating how President Vladimir Putin has made Russia an "international pariah."

"From my point of view, we must use this transitional period [of 120 days]. If it is faster, it will be good but we and our plants need some time. We need time to find new suppliers," Scholz said on late Thursday after the meeting with heads of regional governments.

"The European Commission will in short time, mid-May present a plan to phase out our dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal," Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference in Sweden, where she is on a working visit.

Restriction of Russia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council is unlawful, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The Russian side considers the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on April 7 in New York to suspend the membership of the Russian Federation in the UN Human Rights Council as an unlawful and politically motivated step in order to defiantly punish a sovereign UN member state that pursues an independent domestic and foreign policy," the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution suspending Russia's work in the UN Human Rights Council.

NATO will for the first time address the impact of China's "influence and coercive policies" on its security, as well as relations with Russia, in its next Strategic Concept, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

"Ministers agreed that NATO’s next Strategic Concept must deliver a response on how we relate to Russia in the future. And for the first time, it must also take account of how China’s growing influence and coercive policies affect our security. The Strategic Concept will be finalized for the Madrid Summit in June," Stoltenberg said at a press conference following the meetings of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels.

Foreign ministers of NATO member states convened in the Belgian capital on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

The Strategic Concept is a fundamental document of NATO which outlines key security challenges faced by the alliance and guides its political and military development. The last Strategic Concept was approved in 2010 and has not been revisited since.

The US Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation suspending the import of energy products from Russia to the United States amid the ongoing special operation in Ukraine.

The Senate passed a revised version of H.R. 6968, the Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act, in a 100-0 vote. The bill will now be sent back to the House of Representatives for final passage of the revised version.

The legislation prohibits the importation of mineral fuels, oils and distillate products, in addition to directing the US Trade Representative to consider steps to suspend Russia’s participation in the World Trade Organization.

A "diplomatic intervention" in Ukraine conflict is not on the immediate horizon while military activities are ongoing, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said in a congressional testimony on Thursday.

"I think it's an open question right now, how this [conflict in Ukraine] ends. Ideally, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin decides to cease fire, stop his aggression. And there's some sort of diplomatic intervention. But right now, that doesn't look like it's on the immediate horizon," Milley told the US Senate Armed Services Committee.

Milley pointed out that a significant battle soon awaits in the southeast of Ukraine around the Donbass region, where Russia intends to amass forces and continue its special operation.

The UN General Assembly vote on whether to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council represents an attempt by the United States to continue its dominant position, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gennady Kuzmin said on Thursday.

“Today is an attempt by the US to continue its dominant position,” he told a UNGA session which gathered to decide on the Russian membership in the council.