President Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham threatened to champion bipartisan legislation designating Russia a state sponsor of terrorism over the kidnappings of Ukrainian children unless Moscow returns them.
Throughout its brutal war on Ukraine, Russia has been accused of abducting over 20,000 Ukrainian children and putting some of them up for adoption, with the goal of raising them to be Russian.
“I intend to push the return of these children until I can’t push anymore,” Graham vowed on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“If they do not return these children to Ukraine, the 19,000, then I’m going to push legislation to make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law,” the South Carolina Republican said, warning such a move would make Russia “radioactive.”
Estimates of the children abducted by Russia vary, with some Ukrainian officials pegging it closer to 35,000.
The Kremlin was vexed back in 2014 during Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, in which protesters ousted its pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych and shifted towards the West.
Russia’s demented kidnapping of Ukrainian children appears to be part of a broader strategy to remold Ukraine into a Russian sphere of influence over the long term.
In some instances, the abducted children have been put on the battlefield to fight against Ukraine, according to top officials in Kyiv and nongovernmental organizations.
Ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin on Friday, the White House stressed that the mass abduction of Ukrainian children “remains a concern.”
Trump handed Putin a letter from the first lady pushing him to pursue peace and warning about the negative toll war has on children, without explicitly delving into the kidnapping issue.
Graham argued that Russia deserves to be labeled a state sponsor of terrorism to tarnish its image abroad for its actions.
“They should be a state sponsor of terrorism, Russia, until they return the children. So any peace deal must include the return of the kidnapped children by Russia to Ukraine,” Graham said.
“If you don’t do, that’s not a just end of the war. And if Putin doesn’t return these kids, he should be a state sponsor of terrorism designation under U.S. law. And that makes Russia radioactive.”
Graham has also introduced a bipartisan sanctions bill alongside Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) So far, Trump has indicated he wants to act unilaterally to slap secondary tariffs and sanctions against Russia, rather than the bill. Graham and Blumenthal have some 85 co-sponsors.
“The way to end this war is to make Russia believe that, if they don’t end it, we’re going to destroy their fossil fuel economy,” Graham said.
“I’m going to let him [Trump] determine that,” Graham said about the timing of when that sanctions bill might get passed. “I trust his judgment. I can’t think of a better person to be in the room with Putin than President Trump.”
Graham also said that he’s “cautiously optimistic we will get” to an end of the war.
Trump is set to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on Monday and will also meet with a group of European leaders backing Ukraine.
