The Verkhovna Rada appealed to the EU countries and its institutions to support granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for joining the European Union, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak (the Holos faction) said.

"The Parliament unanimously supported by all factions and groups the appeal to the EU countries to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country for EU membership," Zhelezniak wrote on Telegram on Sunday.

According to him, 315 MPs voted for draft resolution No. 7471.

The appeal includes the need for further military assistance, both at the national level and within the European Peace Facility to strengthen air, anti-tank and anti-ship defense, as well as to continue providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

MPs invite EU member states to increase sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation and Belarus through the imposition of further packages of sanctions, in particular, disconnecting the Russian Federation from the global financial system, a complete embargo on the most important goods of Russian exports, as well as the imposition of personal sanctions on Russian high-ranking officials and their families, the seizure and subsequent confiscation of assets in the EU states.

The Verkhovna Rada also asks the EU states to pay special attention to guaranteeing world food security and take the necessary measures to ensure the safe and uninterrupted export of Ukrainian grain.

In their appeal, the parliamentarians demand that the EU countries take part in the investigation of war crimes of Russian invaders on the territory of Ukraine, acts of genocide, atrocities against Ukrainians and punishment of those responsible. "The EU, as a regional leader, should be involved in the preparation and creation of a Special Tribunal for the Punishment of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine in order to ... bring representatives of the highest political and military leadership of the Russian Federation to account for its commission," the appeal says.

The Verkhovna Rada also calls on the EU to contribute to the restoration of Ukrainian infrastructure, medical institutions, residential buildings and schools, and to continue the process of modernizing the state in accordance with the EU's Rebuild Ukraine plan.