Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are introducing a Senate resolution Tuesday to officially designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The resolution will call on President Joe Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken to slap the official label on Russia amid its deadly invasion of Ukraine, where thousands of civilians have been reported killed by Vladimir Putin's Russian forces.
"Putin's in charge of a state sponsor of terrorism; that designation needs to be given to Russia," Graham told "Fox News Sunday." "He's earned that designation. We need to pour it on when it comes to helping Ukraine."
Graham has been calling for a Russian regime change from Putin, sometimes controversially, but he contends Putin's war in Ukraine has left him with "no off ramp."
"The Ukrainians are not going to give the east to Putin to stop the war," Graham told host Brett Baier. "They're going to fight for every inch of their territory. If we push the Ukrainians to give up half the country, then Putin wins.
"If we back off prosecuting Putin as a war criminal, all the laws on the books become a joke. If we don't get this right, China will certainly invade Taiwan.
"There is no off ramp in this war. Somebody's going to win and somebody's going to lose."
Graham added Putin's invasion has only shown the importance of NATO.
"We're in a fight for the future of Europe," Graham continued. "NATO needs to get bigger, not smaller.
"If Finland and Sweden join NATO, and Europe breaks away from dependence on Russian oil and gas and Putin is declared a war criminal, that would be the best outcome for the world writ large."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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