The bill was presented June 20 by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal of both major parties in the U.S. Congress.

"The fact that he (Putin — ed.) had the courage to enter into a defense agreement with North Korea... one of the most repressive regimes on the planet means that we have lost deterrence..... I urge the administration, given what Putin did yesterday, to go all-in and recognize his regime for what it is: a state sponsor of terrorism", said Republican Senator Graham.

At the same time, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal noted that the agreement signed between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un is "deeply frightening" and "hostile to the United States, world peace, freedom and justice".

The bill's authors also note a Russian full-scale invasion in 2022 in the prerequisites that qualify Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

In addition, the senators suggest adding the poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko in 2004, the poisoning of former Russian FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 350 in Donetsk region in 2014, and support for the aerial bombardment of Aleppo in Syria in 2016 to the list of evidence of Russia's terrorist activities.

The list also includes the poisoning of former Russian military officer and British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain in 2018 and the death in 2024 of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny.

When asked when exactly the relevant bill might come up for a vote, senators said it would happen "sooner rather than later."

• In February 2024, Kirill Budanov, head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, said that not recognizing Russia as a sponsor of terrorism poses serious risks, especially for civilized countries.