The European Parliament called on the European Union member states to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western weapons to hit targets on Russian territory.

The corresponding resolution "on continued financial and military support to Ukraine by EU Member States " was voted on Thursday in Strasbourg during a plenary session of the European Parliament. Some 425 MEPs voted for, 131 against, and 63 abstained. A total of 619 MEPs voted.

"[The European Parliament] calls on the Member States to immediately lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons systems delivered to Ukraine against legitimate military targets on Russian territory, as this hinders Ukraine’s ability to fully exercise its right to self-defence under international public law and leaves Ukraine exposed to attacks on its population and infrastructure," the resolution notes.

The European Parliament "underlines that insufficient deliveries of ammunition and weapons and restrictions on their use risk undermining efforts made so far and deeply deplores the declining financial volume of bilateral military aid to Ukraine from Member States, despite the strong statements made at the beginning of this year; reiterates, therefore, its calls on the Member States to fulfill their commitment of March 2023 to deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, to accelerate weapons deliveries, in particular of modern air defence systems and other weapons and ammunition in response to clearly identified needs, including Taurus missiles."

The European Parliament "calls for the swift implementation of the commitments made in joint security commitments between the EU and Ukraine; reiterates its position that all EU Member States and NATO allies should collectively and individually commit to supporting Ukraine militarily, with no less than 0.25% of their GDP annually."

The resolution also stresses the need to strengthen air defence cooperation between Member States to ensure protection against threats that penetrate EU and NATO airspace.

The European Parliament "stresses that concrete steps should be taken towards Ukraine’s integration in EU defence and cybersecurity policies and programmes during the EU accession process; urges the EU institutions to accelerate the adoption of the European defence industry strategy so as to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products, which would in turn allow for the timely provision of military support to Ukraine."

The European Parliament calls on the Member States to honour their commitment to establish military production on Ukrainian territory; stresses the importance of cooperation with the Ukrainian defence industry and its integration, in the long term, into the EU’s defence technological and industrial base.

In addition, the European Parliament called on Member States to put pressure on Hungary to end the blockade of the European Peace Fund, including the newly created Ukraine Assistance Fund.