US Senators Graham and Blumenthal meet Zelensky in Kyiv

In an effort to push for legislation that would list Russia as as a “state sponsor of terrorism”, US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday.

In May, the bipartisan duo introduced a resolution which would include Russia, together with North Korea, Iran, Syria and Cuba, as the fifth country on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. While in late June, President Zelensky called on the UN to designate Russia a terrorist state.

Referring to the horrific images coming out of Bucha following Russia’s pullout from the Kyiv, Blumenthal said in a media interview on Thursday: “If that’s not terrorism, I don’t know what is.”

The Graham and Blumenthal’s proposal calls on the Secretary of State to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Zelensky also briefed the senators on Thursday over the latest Russian attacks – Eastern Ukraine regions Kharkiv and Donbas were hit by Russia on the same day as the senators’ visit.

 Zelensky said he hoped the meeting on Thursday would help “our partners get accurate information about our defense requirements”. He also emphasized the importance of air- defense in combating persistent attacks.

According to reports, the meeting also discussed the use of US weapons systems to recover Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine, using long-range artillery and hand-to-hand combat.