During a press conference in Helsinki on Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called on President Biden to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, asserting the president has it within his authority to do that.
McConnell's statement came in the wake of a bipartisan Senate resolution introduced last week by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). The resolution puts Russia in the same category as Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria, which the U.S. has designated as state sponsors of terrorism. The resolution also states that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the world to declare Russia a terrorist state.
Regarding his support of adding Russia to the U.S. list of terrorist states, McConnell said, “Anyone who's been able to observe the events of the last couple of months would have to conclude that Russia certainly deserves to be included on that list.”
Thousands of civilians have died at the hands of the Russian military since the beginning of the invasion on February 24. The latest official death toll is 3,381; however, the United Nations believes the actual figure is higher.
