WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) today made the following statement following the committee passage of the Senate resolution they introduced affirming that the United States Senate views the actions of the government of the Russian Federation, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, as sponsoring acts of terrorism, and calls on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST).

 “We are extremely pleased that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Menendez and Ranking Member Risch, passed our resolution urging Putin’s Russia to be designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

“The committee vote was unanimous. We hope and strongly urge that the resolution be brought to the Senate floor as soon as possible. It is imperative Congress show support for designating Putin’s Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, putting them in the same category as Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Syria. The sooner this designation is made, the better for the people of Ukraine and freedom-loving people throughout the world.

“This bipartisan action by the United States Senate thus far has been well-received in Ukraine and hopefully will be a green light to other nations to move in this direction.”

The resolution, once passed on the floor, will put the Senate on record and:

• Views the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, as sponsoring acts of terrorism.

• Calls on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

The SST designation allows four categories of sanctions to be placed on a country, including restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance, a ban on defense exports and sales, certain controls over exports of dual use items, and financial and other restrictions. If designated, Russia would join a small list of other countries who are designated SSTs: Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, and Syria.

Both Ukrainian President Zelensky and the parliament of Ukraine have appealed to Congress to encourage the Department of State to recognize the Russian Federation as an SST.

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