The European Parliament, which met at a plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, by an overwhelming majority of votes adopted a resolution declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism and the use of terrorist means, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed to the West about.

The resolution was adopted by MEPs with 494 votes “for”, 58 “against” and 44 “abstentions”, and its text states that deliberate attacks and atrocities committed by Russian troops and their representatives against the civilian population in Ukraine, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and other serious violations of international and humanitarian law are acts of terrorism and war crimes, the press release of the European Parliament states.

Thus, Russia is declared as a state that sponsors terrorism and “resorts to terrorist means.”

“All contacts of the EU with Russian officials should be reduced to an absolute minimum”

Since the European Union currently cannot officially recognize the state as a sponsor of terrorism, the European Parliament calls on the EU and its member states to develop an appropriate legal framework and to consider including Russia on such a list. This will lead to a series of significant restrictive measures against Moscow and will have profound restrictive consequences for the EU’s relations with Russia.

The European Parliament is also asking the Council to include the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner, the 141st Special Motorized Regiment, also known as the Kadirovtsi, as well as other Russian-funded armed groups, militias and proxies on the EU terrorist list.

The European Parliament also asks the European Union to:

• For further international isolation of Russia, including membership of Russia in international organizations and bodies such as the UN Security Council
• Cut diplomatic relations with Russia
• EU contacts with Russian officials should be reduced to an absolute minimum
• EU institutions affiliated with the Russian state that spread state propaganda around the world should be closed down and banned.

In the context of the escalation of terrorist acts by the Kremlin against the civilian population of Ukraine, the EP resolution calls on the member states to finish work on the ninth package of sanctions against Moscow as soon as possible.

“We must treat Russia like any other supporter of terrorism”

MEPs also want EU countries to prevent, investigate and prosecute any circumvention of existing sanctions and, together with the European Commission, consider possible measures against countries that try to help Russia circumvent the restrictive measures already in place.

• “We claim that Russia is a state sponsor of terrorism, we demand increased support for Ukraine and increased sanctions against the Russian Federation, including through a full embargo on fossil fuels, a complete rejection of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines” , expanding the list of persons subject to sanctions.
• As a state sponsor of terrorism, Russia should be completely isolated internationally, including its membership in international organizations such as the UN Security Council.
• As long as Russia behaves as a state sponsor of terrorism, we must treat Russia as any other supporter of terrorism,” said MEP Siegfried Muresan, co-sponsor of the resolution voted by the EP on Wednesday.