The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is preparing to advance a bill that would designate Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, underscoring Washington’s determination to confront Vladimir Putin’s brutal campaign in Ukraine.
The committee will take up the measure during a business meeting on Wednesday. The bill, authored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), comes amid mounting global outrage over Russia’s ongoing abduction of Ukrainian children—a crime the International Criminal Court has tied directly to Putin.
“Russia’s earned the right to be on this list,” Graham declared when introducing the legislation, adding that the Kremlin’s deliberate targeting of civilians and children “crosses every moral and legal red line.”
Targeting Russia’s War Crimes
The legislation zeroes in on the Kremlin’s forced deportation of roughly 20,000 Ukrainian children, though Moscow itself boasts that it has transferred over 700,000 from war zones—calling it a “humanitarian operation.” International investigators, however, have documented that these children are being systematically stripped of their identities and relocated deep inside Russia.
The Senate bill would require the secretary of State to designate Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism unless the administration can certify that Moscow has returned all abducted Ukrainian children. Currently, only four nations—Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Syria—are on that list.
Balancing Pressure and Diplomacy
President Donald Trump, while emphasizing diplomacy and keeping communication lines open with Putin, has made clear that his administration’s priority remains the safe return of kidnapped Ukrainian children. In March, he restructured State Department funding for tracking and recovery programs to streamline efforts and reduce bureaucratic waste, vowing that “results—not red tape—must drive U.S. humanitarian aid.”
In August, First Lady Melania Trump took a personal interest in the issue, sending a letter to Putin during the president’s summit with the Russian leader. According to the first lady, Putin has since pledged to return Ukrainian adults who were taken as children during earlier phases of the conflict—a gesture she called “a hopeful sign of humanity amid tragedy.”
A Renewed Push for Accountability
Graham and Blumenthal have pressed for this designation for more than a year, arguing that America must lead in holding Russia accountable. Their earlier version, introduced in June 2024, gained traction as evidence mounted of Russia’s war crimes.
While the Biden administration in 2022 chose to label Russia an “aggressor state” rather than a formal sponsor of terrorism—an approach critics said let Moscow off too easily—the new bill reflects growing bipartisan frustration with the lack of consequences for Putin’s regime.
“Putin’s actions are not the marks of a superpower—they’re the marks of a terrorist state,” Graham said. “If America won’t call evil by its name, who will?”
