"Russia should not have a position of authority in a body whose purpose -- whose very purpose -- is to promote respect for human rights. Not only is it the height of hypocrisy -- it is dangerous," Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
"Every day, we see more and more how little Russia respects human rights," she said.
Ultimately she argued, "Russia's participation on the Human Rights Council hurts the Council's credibility. It undermines the entire UN. And it is just plain wrong."
The Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, ahead of the vote on Thursday called on all United Nations member states to support the resolution suspending Russia from the council.
"Now the world has come to a crucial juncture. We witness that our liner is going through treacherous fog towards deadly icebergs. It might seem that we should have named it the Titanic instead of the Human Rights Council. ... We need to take an action today to save the council from sinking," Kyslytsya said.
The Ukrainian ambassador said Russia's actions in Ukraine "would be equated to war crimes and crimes against humanity." While he noted that a vote to suspend a country from the Human Rights Council is "a rare and extraordinary action," he said "Russia's actions are beyond the pale."
In response, the deputy Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Gennady Kuzmin, called on member states to reject the resolution, saying it would set a "a dangerous precedent."
"Today is not the time nor the place for theatrics, or these kinds of extremely theatrical performances like the one presented by Ukraine. In fact the draft resolution we are considering today has no relationship to the actual human rights situation on the ground," Kuzmin said.
The Russian representative said the vote on suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council "is an attempt by the United States to maintain its dominant position and total control to continue its attempt at human rights colonialism in international relations."
Louis Charbonneau, the UN director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that Russia's suspension sends "a crystal-clear message" that they have "no business" on the council.
"The General Assembly has sent a crystal-clear message to Russia's leadership that a government whose military is routinely committing horrific rights violations has no business on the UN Human Rights Council," Charbonneau said. "Gruesome images from Bucha have shocked people around the world. Victims and their families deserve to see those responsible held to account. Investigators from the UN and International Criminal Court should set the wheels of justice in motion by moving swiftly to gather and preserve evidence of war crimes."