The Council of Europe (CoE) has confirmed the exclusion of Russia from its assembly over the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The parliamentary assembly of the council unanimously adopted an opinion which considered that the Russian Federation could no longer be a member state of the organisation on Tuesday.

This was confirmed in a post by the CoE Twitter handle on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: US Threatens ‘Full Force’ as Russia Takes War to NATO’s Doorstep

CoE was founded after World War II to uphold human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe. It has 47 member states with an estimated combined population of 820 million citizens.

“In an extraordinary meeting this morning, the Committee of Ministers decided, in the context of the procedure launched under Article 8 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, that the Russian Federation ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe as from today, after 26 years of membership,” CoE’s statement reads in part.

The Russian Federation joined CoE in 1996. Ending its 26-year membership, Russia will become the first country to be excluded from the council.

This is the first international organisation known to cut ties with Russia since it attacked Ukraine 21 days ago. Earlier, the European Union (EU) and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) placed economic sanctions on Russia.