MEPs adopt resolution demanding EU candidacy for Ukraine

European Parliament on Tuesday adopted resolution that demands EU candidacy for Ukraine, ban on Russian oil and exclusion of Belarus from SWIFT.

With 637 votes in favor, 13 against, and 26 abstentions, EU lawmakers condemned "in the strongest possible terms Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine" and called on Moscow to immediately stop all military activities, said a statement by the European Parliament.

Lawmakers called on EU institutions to grant candidate status to Ukraine and urged to the bloc in the meantime to speed up Kyiv's integration into the single market.

The document also asked for tougher sanctions against Moscow, including a barring of Russian oil and gas imports into the bloc and a two-way ban on investment.

The EU lawmakers also urged for more sanctions targeting "high-level corruption in Russia and Belarus as well as oligarchs and officials close to the countries' leadership."

The resolution called for Belarus to be banned from the international banking SWIFT system.

Earlier on Tuesday, Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament welcomed Ukraine's EU candidacy and promised support for the country's EU accession.

Since Russia's war on Ukraine began last Thursday, it has been met by outrage from the international community, with the EU, UK, and US implementing a range of economic sanctions on Russia.

The EU adopted three sanctions packages against Russia last week, targeting, among others, President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Russian banking sector, and key state-owned companies.

On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially signed Ukraine's request to join the EU.

In an open letter, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Romania expressed support for Ukraine's swift candidacy.

So far, at least 136 civilians, including 13 children, have been killed and 400 others, including 26 children, injured in Ukraine, according to UN figures.

Around 660,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.