Senator Graham: US should designate Russia state sponsor of terrorism

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has called on the U.S. presidential administration to support Russia's inclusion in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

The United States currently designates four countries as state sponsors of terrorism: Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Syria. This classification entails a range of sanctions, such as limitations on foreign aid and a prohibition on defense exports and sales.

"I am also urging the Biden Administration to send longer-range artillery, accelerate F-16 training for the Ukrainians, and designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law," Graham said during his visit to Kyiv on March 18.

The senator also added that he feels sorry for the Russian people, who are forced to live in Russia's President Vladimir Putin's state. Graham stressed that he considers the elections held in Russia to be a fiction, and Putin a war criminal.

This is Graham's fifth visit to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war.

He arrived as U.S. aid to Ukraine remains stalled. While the Senate approved a $95 billion funding package on Feb. 13 that contained $60 billion in aid for Kyiv, the package still faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Graham voted repeatedly against the $60 billion package, declaring in February that he talked to former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is "dead set against this package."

Read also: Ukraine war latest: EU gives final approval of $5.5 billion in defense aid to Kyiv

We’ve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.