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PARIS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The European Space Agency on Wednesday named the first ever "parastronaut" in a major step towards allowing people with physical disabilities to work and live in space.

The 22-nation agency said it had selected former British Paralympic sprinter John McFall as part of a new generation of 17 recruits picked for astronaut training.

He will take part in a feasibility study designed to allow ESA to assess the conditions needed for people with disabilities to take part in future missions.

"It's been quite a whirlwind experience, given that as an amputee, I'd never thought that being an astronaut was a possibility, so excitement was a huge emotion," McFall said in an interview posted on ESA's website.

He will join five new career astronauts and 11 reserves in training after ESA replenished its astronaut ranks for the first time since 2009.

ESA posted openings last year for people fully capable of passing its usual stringent psychological, cognitive and other tests who are only prevented from becoming astronauts due to the constraints of existing hardware in light of their disability.

It received 257 applications for the role of astronaut with a disability, a parallel role that it terms "parastronaut".

Disability equality charity Scope described his selection as "a major leap forward".

"Better representation of disabled people in influential roles will really help improve attitudes and break down the barriers that many disabled people face today," the charity's Head of Communications, Alison Kerry, said.

Following a motorcycle accident that led to his right leg being amputated at the age of 19, McFall went on to win the 100-metres Bronze Medal at the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008.

The 31-year-old doctor will help ESA engineers design changes in hardware needed to open professional spaceflight to a wider group of qualified candidates, the agency said.

"I think the message that I would give to future generations is that science is for everyone and space travel hopefully can be for everyone," McFall said.

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BRUSSELS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The European Parliament on Wednesday designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, arguing that its military strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets such as energy infrastructure, hospitals, schools and shelters violated international law.

European lawmakers voted in favour of a resolution calling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.

The move is largely symbolic, as the European Union does not have a legal framework in place to back it up. At the same time, the bloc has already imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow reacted angrily to the European Parliament decision.

"I propose designating the European Parliament as a sponsor of idiocy," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the European Parliament's decision.

"Russia must be isolated at all levels and held accountable in order to end its long-standing policy of terrorism in Ukraine and across the globe," he wrote on Twitter.

Zelenskiy has urged the United States and other countries to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, accusing its forces of targeting civilians, which Moscow denies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has so far refused to list Russia despite resolutions in both chambers of Congress urging him to do so.

The U.S. State Department currently names four countries - Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria - as state sponsors of terrorism, meaning they are subject to a defence export ban and financial restrictions.

In the EU, the parliaments of four countries have so far designated Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, according to the European Parliamentary Research Service: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland.