MOSCOW 

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday it would leave the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after the General Assembly voted to suspend the country’s membership. 

The ministry called the UN vote "an illegal and politically motivated step for the purpose of demonstrative punishment of a sovereign UN member state carrying out an independent domestic and foreign policy."

It said Western countries monopolized the council and use it for their "opportunistic purposes."

"Having proclaimed themselves ‘a standard’ in the field of human rights, these states are directly involved in gross and mass violations of human rights," it said.

The ministry added that despite the withdrawal from the UNHRC, Russia will continue to contribute to the protection of human rights.

At the US initiative, the UN General Assembly held a vote on Russia's membership in the UNHRC because of the war in Ukraine.

The vote passed 93 - 24, with 58 members states abstaining.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,611 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,227 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.3 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.