European Parliament declares Russia to be a state sponsor of terrorism

On 23 November, following the atrocities carried out by Vladimir Putin’s regime against Ukrainian civilians, the European Parliament have recognised Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a resolution highlighting 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”. In light of this, they recognised Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state that “uses means of terrorism”.

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. According to MEPs, this would trigger a number of significant restrictive measures against Moscow and have profound restrictive implications for EU relations with Russia.

In the meantime, MEPs call on the Council to include the Russian paramilitary organisation ‘the Wagner Group’, the 141st Special Motorized Regiment, also known as the ‘Kadyrovites’, and other Russian-funded armed groups, militias and proxies, on the EU’s terrorist list.

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

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Press release