The UN General Assembly will vote on Thursday on whether or not to suspend Russia from the body's Human Rights Council (UNHRC), according to diplomats.  

The U.S. asked the 193-member assembly to remove Russia from the UNHRC on Monday, after Ukraine accused Russian troops of killing dozens of civilians in the town of Bucha, a claim Moscow denies.

A two-thirds majority from the General Assembly in New York can suspend a country for committing gross and systematic human rights violations. 

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"Russia's participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce," U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on a visit to Romania earlier in the week. Russia is in its second year of a three-year term on the 47-member council and Greenfield said "it is wrong, which is why we believe it is time the UN General Assembly vote to remove them."

Kyiv said that it will apply all "available UN mechanisms" to find evidence on alleged Russian crimes in Ukraine. "No place for Russia on the UN Human Rights Council," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. 

Since Russia's military operation started on February 24, the Assembly has adopted two resolutions decrying Moscow's actions, with 140 votes in favor. China has abstained.

"My message to those 140 countries who have courageously stood together is: the images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us to now match our words with action," Thomas-Greenfield said.

In New York, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, said the attempt to suspend Russia from the council was "unbelievable," adding that it would not help the peace talks.

"This is again unprecedented and this will not facilitate or encourage or be helpful to what is happening between Russia and the Ukrainian peace talks," Nebenzia said at a press conference.

He repeated Moscow denials of Ukraine's accusations that its forces killed civilians in Bucha, claiming the footage presented was "staged." Sine then satellitte imagery has emerged that shows bodies on the streets of Bucha before Russian troops evacuated.

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Bucha's deputy mayor says around 50 bodies were found in the town, the victims of extra-judicial killings by Russian troops. The accusations against Russian forces are yet to be confirmed, but Ukrainian authorities say they are investigating possible war crimes. 

The General Assembly has a precedent for such suspensions, removing Libya from the Human Rights Council in 2011 because of violence against protesters by forces loyal to then leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

While Moscow cannot make legally binding decisions on the council, it can authorize investigations and its decisions send important political messages.