The Ukrainian parliament has voted to drop its neutral status and take a step towards joining Nato.

The move has elicited an sharp response from Russia, whose Foreign Minister, Segei Lavrov, called it “counterproductive”, according to the BBC.

The former Soviet state’s parliament voted to drop the country’s non-aligned status by a significant majority – 308 to 8.

Ukraine had adopted the non-aligned status in 2010, under Russian pressure.

Moscow has previously said Ukraine joining any military alliance or union would prevent any settlement on the conflict in the east of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he would bring the country closer to Nato – building on a pre-election promise to secure Western protection for Ukraine.

After the vote, Poroshenko tweeted: “There is no alternative to Euroatlantic integration.”

303 votes & Ukraine's non-block status is out. There is no alternative to Euroatlantic integration.

— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) December 23, 2014