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

The Biden administration is "focused" on ways to help Ukrainian refugees, as the number of people displaced by the war continues to grow, according to U.S. officials.

More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion began, according to the United Nations' refugee agency, in Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

"As the numbers increase, as the burden increases for European partners, we will certainly do everything we can to help," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Thursday, adding it was "something we're very focused on right now."

Without offering specifics, Blinken confirmed the administration is "looking at things that we can do ourselves and do directly -- for example, looking at steps we may be able to take on family reunification and other things."

One limited option is fast-tracking the process to admit refugees to the U.S. itself, which is defined by law and requires a referral from the U.N.'s refugee agency and thorough vetting. A senior administration official told ABC News that the refugee program "is not an emergency response program, so our goal would be to provide humanitarian assistance to keep people safe where they are for now."

As Blinken told reporters, the referral process to be granted refugee status "takes time." Refugee resettlement is a yearslong process, and there are already 7,000 Ukrainian refugees in the pipeline, according to resettlement agency Church World Service.

The senior administration official also said U.S. embassies and consulates in the region are processing emergency visa applications, but that they are overwhelmed. "We are not able to process the volume of the people who are thinking about that as an option," the official said.

Refugee resettlement agencies say the administration is considering using the Lautenberg program, which allows religious minorities -- including Ukrainian Greek Catholics and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Christians -- to bring family members to the U.S. with a potentially expedited refugee status. One agency told ABC News there are thousands of Ukrainian applicants who the U.S. could swiftly admit.

The administration has already approved temporary protected status for any Ukrainians in the U.S. before March 1 -- allowing them to stay and work in the U.S. for at least the next 18 months.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson, Sarah Kolinovsky and Conor Finnegan

State Department spokesperson Ned Price called on Russia to provide consular access to WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner in an interview with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis on Thursday.

In the weeks since her detention, U.S. officials from the embassy in Moscow have been unable to meet with her and "evaluate the conditions, her conditions, the conditions in which she is being detained and to provide all forms of support," Price said.

"The Russians are obligated to permit, to allow this type of consular access," Price added. "We're going to continue to insist that they allow us access to Brittney Griner just as we be permitted to access all Americans who are detained in Russia."

Another State Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that Griner is in pretrial detention, and that Russia must provide consular access in those circumstances.

The State Department has been "in constant contact" with Griner's legal team and the WNBA, Price said.

Griner, who plays for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury as well as in Russia, was arrested last month at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities said they found vape cartridges in her luggage.

Her detention has been extended to May 19, the Russian news agency TASS reported Thursday.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan and Tanya Stukalova

A U.S. citizen was killed Thursday in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, a State Department official confirmed to ABC News, after Chernihiv regional police reported an American was killed by Russian shelling.

The State Department official did not provide more details.

The American was identified by Ukrainian officials as 68-year-old James Whitney Hill. He was killed in an artillery strike, according to Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.

Hill's sister, Katya Hill, also confirmed to ABC News that her brother was killed in Chernihiv.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan, Patrick Reevell and Chris Looft

During a St. Patrick's Day event at the White House Thursday evening, President Joe Biden briefly remarked on the war in Ukraine, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin "has launched an unconscionable war against Ukraine, against the very pillars of international peace and stability."

Biden said the U.S. and Ireland understand the Ukrainians' defense of their liberty.

"As two nations that have fought for freedom, we recognize the courage and determination of the Ukrainian people who defend their liberty now,” Biden said. "The Republic of Ireland and our nation have lived through war. We're determined though to help the Ukrainian people bring an end to Putin's brutal assault, and restore peace to the Ukrainian people."

He said that the U.S. and Ireland understood the plight of Ukrainian refugees and "stay united" with their international partners "to keep pressure on Putin."

"As nations that have been marked by immigrants who departed Ireland in coffin ships and immigrants who sought the safety of new beginnings in the United States, we are open, and our hearts are open, and our arms are open to help more than 3 million Ukrainian refugees who've already fled Putin's onslaught," Biden said.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson