The European Parliament recognised Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, following the atrocities carried out by Vladimir Putin’s regime against Ukrainian civilians.

In the resolution MEPs highlight that the deliberate attacks and atrocities committed by Russian forces and their proxies against civilians in Ukraine, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and other serious violations of international and humanitarian law amount to acts of terror and constitute war crimes.

“As the EU currently cannot officially designate states as sponsors of terrorism, Parliament calls on the EU and its member states to put in place the proper legal framework and consider adding Russia to such a list.

This would trigger a number of significant restrictive measures against Moscow and have profound restrictive implications for EU relations with Russia”, - reads the official statement.

The resolution was adopted by 494 votes in favour, 58 against with 44 abstentions.