The official twitter account, promoting the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, tweeted on 20 January 2021 that Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia's sovereign wealth fund, has filed for registration of the COVID-19 Sputnik V in the European Union and expects it to be reviewed in February 2021, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.

This moves the vaccine closer to a wider adoption across the globe.

The Sputnik V twitter account said that teams from the vaccine and the European Medical Agency (EMA) held a scientific review of the vaccine on 19 January 2021, adding that the EMA will take a decision on the authorisation of the vaccine based on the reviews.

RDIF's chief, Kirill Dmitriev, had said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference last week that Russia would submit a formal application to the European Union in February 2021 for approval of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

Reportedly, the Sputnik V vaccine has already been approved in Argentina, Belarus, Serbia and other countries.