Polish Senate recognizes Russia as 'terrorist state'
Polish lawmakers call on democratic nations to decry Russia as terrorist state
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Polish Senate on Wednesday unanimously voted on a resolution recognizing Russia as a 'terrorist regime' over its deadly war in Ukraine.
The resolution – which passed with 85 votes – said the governing body "strongly condemns Russian aggression" and called on "all countries that support peace, democracy and human rights to recognize the authorities of the Russian Federation as a terrorist regime."
Polish lawmakers outlined accounts of torture, forced deportations, murder of civilians and intentional strikes on civilian locations to back their calls to characterize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Emergency workers move a body during an exhumation in the recently retaken area of Izium, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
"We know all these acts of state terrorism well from the history books," a statement accompanying the resolution said. "Europeans believed that they would never again be threatened with genocide and war crimes. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin and his apparatus of violence returned to the cruel practices of the Stalinist and Nazi regimes."
Polish lawmakers said that Moscow’s war ambitions in Ukraine "must be defeated" and Russia "deprived of the possibility of endangering its neighbors."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lawmakers in Poland are not alone in their push to recognize Russia as a terrorist state. Senators Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced legislation last month calling on the U.S. Congress to do the same.
WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE
Part of the body of Ukrainian soldier emerges from the ground during an exhumation in the recently retaken area of Izium, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Ukrainian authorities discovered a mass burial site near the recaptured city of Izium that contained hundreds of graves. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
BIDEN UNSURE IF RUSSIA FITS ‘STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM’ DESIGNATION AMID UKRAINE WAR: JAKE SULLIVAN
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Additionally, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution in July that called on the administration to add Russia to the U.S.'s terrorist blacklist.
A similar bill was introduced in the House in July, though neither chamber has advanced the legislation.
Lawmakers argue that legally designating Russia would enable the U.S. to more effectively cut Moscow off financially, hold them accountable in U.S. courts and waive Russia’s sovereign immunity.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Blumenthal also argued the U.S. has a "moral authority" to hold Russia accountable for war crimes.
The Estonian Parliament last week also recognized Russia as "a terrorist regime," following in the steps of Latvia and Lithuania.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers an address to the participants of the Bolshaya Peremena All-Russian contest for school students via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on June 1, 2022. (Photo by MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden has already said he does not support designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
"It is not the most effective or strongest path forward, as we have said many times before, to hold Russia accountable," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued earlier this month.