II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4625 

To provide for the designation of the Russian Federation as a state sponsor 

of terrorism. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2024 

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To provide for the designation of the Russian Federation 

as a state sponsor of terrorism. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Designating the Rus5 sian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) United States law authorizes the designa9 tion of countries as state sponsors of terrorism if 


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1 they have repeatedly provided support for acts of 

2 international terrorism. 

3 (2) The Republic of Cuba, the Democratic Peo4 ple’s Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of 

5 Iran, and the Syrian Arab Republic are currently 

6 designated as state sponsors of terrorism. 

7 (3) At the direction of President Vladimir 

8 Putin, the Government of the Russian Federation 

9 has promoted, and continues to promote, acts of 

10 international terrorism against political opponents, 

11 foreign nationals, and nation states. 

12 (4) Under the orders of President Vladimir 

13 Putin, the Government of the Russian Federation 

14 engaged in a campaign of terror that utilized brutal 

15 force to target civilians and civilian centers, such as 

16 Grozny (the capital of Chechnya) during the Second 

17 Chechen War, which left countless innocent men, 

18 women, and children dead or wounded. 

19 (5) In 2004, agents of the Government of the 

20 Russian Federation allegedly poisoned then can21 didate for President of Ukraine and informal opposi22 tion coalition leader, Viktor Yushchenko, with 

23 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (commonly 

24 known as ‘‘TCDD’’). 


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1 (6) In 2006, agents of the Government of the 

2 Russian Federation allegedly poisoned a former offi3 cer of the Federal Security Service of the Russian 

4 Federation, Alexander Litvinenko, with the rare and 

5 highly toxic radionuclide polonium-210 while Mr. 

6 Litvinenko was in London. 

7 (7) In 2014, the Russian Federation illegally 

8 seized and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from 

9 Ukraine by military force. 

10 (8) In 2014, the Wagner Group, a private mili11 tary company, was established following the Russian 

12 Federation’s illegal seizure and annexation of the 

13 Crimean Peninsula and has since— 

14 (A) been subject to United States Govern15 ment sanctions for its involvement in the Rus16 sian Federation’s initial invasion of Ukraine; 

17 (B) been added to the Department of Com18 merce’s Entity List set forth in Supplement No. 

19 4 to part 744 of the Export Administration 

20 Regulations for violating international law and 

21 fueling the conflict in eastern Ukraine; 

22 (C) been identified by the Department of 

23 the Treasury as ‘‘a designated Russian Ministry 

24 of Defense proxy force’’; 


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1 (D) been redesignated by the Office of 

2 Foreign Assets Control of the Department of 

3 the Treasury pursuant to Executive Order 

4 13581 for being ‘‘a foreign person that con5 stitutes a significant transnational criminal or6 ganization’’, due to the Wagner Group’s ‘‘ongo7 ing pattern of serious criminal activity, includ8 ing mass executions, rape, child abductions and 

9 physical abuse’’; and 

10 (E) had additional sanctions placed on in11 dividuals who have directly or indirectly acted 

12 on behalf of the Wagner Group, even after the 

13 death of the former head of the Wagner Group, 

14 Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

15 (9) Since 2014, the Government of the Russian 

16 Federation has supported separatists engaging in 

17 acts of violence against Ukrainian civilians in the 

18 Donbas region. 

19 (10) On July 27, 2014, the Government of the 

20 Russian Federation supplied the surface-to-air mis21 sile used by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine to 

22 shoot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which re23 sulted in the deaths of 298 innocent men, women, 

24 and children. 


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1 (11) In September and October 2016, an aerial 

2 bombing campaign launched by the Russian-Syrian 

3 coalition against the city of Aleppo, Syria killed at 

4 least 430 people and struck civilian targets, includ5 ing the al-Sakhour Medical Center. 

6 (12) In 2018, intelligence assessments by the 

7 United States Government concluded that President 

8 Vladimir Putin ordered the poisoning of former Rus9 sian military officer and double agent for British in10 telligence agencies Sergei Skripal and his daughter, 

11 Yulia Skripal, in the United Kingdom. 

12 (13) The Government of the Russian Federa13 tion has entered into trade deals with the Republic 

14 of Cuba, a nation that is currently designated a 

15 state sponsor of terrorism, with the intent to con16 tinue to increase bilateral trade between the two 

17 countries, which reached $450,000,000 in 2022, 

18 which was a 200 percent increase in the value of 

19 trade between the two countries compared to 2021. 

20 (14) The Government of the Russian Federa21 tion has received diplomatic support from the Demo22 cratic People’s Republic of Korea, another nation 

23 that is currently designated a state sponsor of ter24 rorism, and a nation that has recognized the RusVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Aug 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4625.IS S4625

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1 sian Federation’s illegal annexation of Donetsk, 

2 Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia as legitimate. 

3 (15) The Government of the Russian Federa4 tion has provided and continues to provide military 

5 and technical support to the Islamic Republic of 

6 Iran, a third nation that is currently designated a 

7 state sponsor of terrorism, in return for weapons, in8 cluding unmanned aerial vehicles, which the Russian 

9 Federation has used extensively in Ukraine, includ10 ing against civilian targets. 

11 (16) The Government of the Russian Federa12 tion provides material support to the Syrian Arab 

13 Republic, a fourth nation that is currently des14 ignated a state sponsor of terrorism and a nation 

15 that has targeted innocent civilians with attacks on 

16 civilian markets, medical facilities, and schools. 

17 (17) On February 25, 2022, the day after Rus18 sia launched its full scaled invasion of Ukraine, and 

19 pursuant to Executive Order 14024 (50 U.S.C. 1701 

20 note), which authorizes sanctions against Russia for 

21 its harmful foreign activities, including violating 

22 well-established principles of international law such 

23 as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integ24 rity of other states, the United States imposed sanc25 tions on— 


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1 (A) the President of the Russian Federa2 tion, Vladimir Putin; 

3 (B) the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the 

4 Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov; 

5 (C) the Chief of the General Staff of the 

6 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, 

7 Valery Gerasimov; and 

8 (D) the Minister of Defense of the Russian 

9 Federation, Sergei Shoigu. 

10 (18) On February 25, 2022, following the impo11 sition of sanctions, the Department of the Treasury 

12 released a statement that reads, in part, ‘‘President 

13 Putin and Minister Lavrov are directly responsible 

14 for Russia’s unprovoked and unlawful further inva15 sion of Ukraine, a democratic sovereign state. It is 

16 exceedingly rare for Treasury to designate a head of 

17 state; President Putin joins a very small group that 

18 includes despots such as Kim Jong Un, Alyaksandr 

19 Lukashenka, and Bashar al-Assad.’’. 

20 (19) On March 1, 2022, Jason Blazakis, former 

21 Director of the Counterterrorism Finance and Des22 ignations Office, Bureau of Counterterrorism, De23 partment of State, wrote ‘‘Russia provides sanctuary 

24 to a U.S.-designated terrorist group, the Russian 


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1 Imperial Movement, which operates with impunity in 

2 Russian territory.’’. 

3 (20) On March 14, 2022, Chairperson-in-Office 

4 of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in 

5 Europe, Zbigniew Rau, stated that actions of the 

6 Government of the Russian Federation in Ukraine 

7 against innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure 

8 is ‘‘state terrorism’’. 

9 (21) On March 17, 2022, Ukrainian President 

10 Volodymyr Zelensky called for the world to acknowl11 edge the Russian Federation as a terrorist state. 

12 (22) In July 2022, it was reported that between 

13 2013 and 2021 the Governments of the Russian 

14 Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic had car15 ried out at least 58 double-tap air strikes in residen16 tial areas in the Syrian Arab Republic outside of 

17 government-held territory that targeted rescue per18 sonnel responding to assist civilian casualties caused 

19 by the initial air strikes. 

20 (23) On July 27, 2022, during the 117th Con21 gress, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution 

22 calling on the Secretary of State to designate the 

23 Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism. 

24 (24) On November 23, 2022, the European 

25 Parliament designated the Russian Federation as a 


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1 state sponsor of terrorism for its military strikes on 

2 civilian targets, including energy infrastructure, hos3 pitals, schools and shelters. 

4 (25) As of December 21, 2022, four NATO al5 lies have formally declared that the Russian Federa6 tion is a state sponsor of terrorism. 

7 (26) On December 21, 2022, President 

8 Zelensky, speaking before a joint meeting of the 

9 United States Congress, called on the United States 

10 to ‘‘let the terrorist state [of Russia] be held respon11 sible for its terror and aggression [towards 

12 Ukraine]’’. 

13 (27) On March 17, 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II 

14 of the International Criminal Court issued arrest 

15 warrants for the President of the Russian Federa16 tion, Vladimir Putin, and the Commissioner for Chil17 dren’s Rights in the Office of the President, Maria 

18 Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, for the war crime of un19 lawful deportation of children and the unlawful 

20 transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine 

21 to the Russian Federation. 

22 (28) On February 16, 2024, Aleksey Navalny, 

23 a Russian opposition leader and vocal critic of Presi24 dent Vladimir Putin, was reported dead after RusVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Aug 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4625.IS S4625

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1 sian officials announced he died from ‘‘sudden death 

2 syndrome’’. 

3 (29) On February 16, 2024, following reports 

4 of the death of Aleksey Navalny, President Biden 

5 stated ‘‘Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for 

6 Navalny’s death. What has happened to Navalny is 

7 more proof of Putin’s brutality’’, which built on his 

8 earlier comments that ‘‘the consequences of 

9 [Navalny’s death] would be devastating for Russia.’’. 

10 (30) On March 5, 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber II 

11 of the International Criminal Court issued arrest 

12 warrants for the Commander of the Long-Range 

13 Aviation of the Aerospace Force, Sergei Ivanovich 

14 Kobylash, and Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, 

15 Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, for the war crime of di16 recting attacks at civilian objects, the war crime of 

17 causing excessive incidental harm to civilians and 

18 damage to civilian objects, and the crime against hu19 manity of inhumane acts. 

20 (31) The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has ap21 pealed to Congress to encourage the Department of 

22 State to designate the Russian Federation as a state 

23 sponsor of terrorism, noting that ‘‘the Russian Fed24 eration has for years supported and financed ter25 rorist regimes and terrorist organizations, including 


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1 being the main supplier of weapons to the Assad re2 gime in Syria and supporting terrorists in the Mid3 dle East and Latin America, organizing acts of 

4 international terrorism, including the poisoning of 

5 the Skripal family in the United Kingdom of Great 

6 Britain and Northern Ireland, the downing of a civil7 ian Malaysian airliner and other acts of terrorism.’’. 

8 (32) While those who oppose designating the 

9 Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism 

10 claim such designation would prevent diplomatic en11 gagement between the Russian Federation and the 

12 United States, section 112b of title 1, United States 

13 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Case-Zablocki Act’’) 

14 does not prohibit the President of the United States 

15 nor the Secretary of State from engaging diplomati16 cally and entering into international agreements with 

17 any foreign government that is designated as a state 

18 sponsor of terrorism. 

19 (33) The United States has previously engaged 

20 diplomatically and entered into agreements with gov21 ernments designated as state sponsors of terrorism, 

22 including— 

23 (A) in 1984, 1994, and 1995 when the 

24 United States and the Republic of Cuba negoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Aug 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4625.IS S4625

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1 tiated a number of joint communique ́s and joint 

2 statements related to migration procedures; 

3 (B) in 1996, when the United States en4 tered into three agreements with the Islamic 

5 Republic of Iran related to the resolution of 

6 claims before the Iran-United States Claims 

7 Tribunal and the International Court of Jus8 tice; 

9 (C) in 2010, when the United States held 

10 security talks with the President of the Syrian 

11 Arab Republic; 

12 (D) in 2013 and 2015, when the United 

13 States and the Islamic Republic of Iran partici14 pated in and signed the multinational Joint 

15 Plan of Action and the Joint Comprehensive 

16 Plan of Action, respectively; 

17 (E) in 2018 and 2019, when the President 

18 of the United States held a series of bilateral 

19 meetings with the Supreme Leader of the 

20 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; and 

21 (F) by maintaining United States Embassy 

22 or interest section operations in the Republic of 

23 Cuba and the Syrian Arab Republic while the 

24 respective countries were designated as state 

25 sponsors of terrorism. 


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1 (34) The United States has a range of tools 

2 available— 

3 (A) to hold the Russian Federation ac4 countable; 

5 (B) to reduce the Russian Federation’s 

6 war machine; and 

7 (C) to isolate the Russian Federation eco8 nomically and diplomatically, including— 

9 (i) by designating the Russian Fed10 eration a state sponsor of terrorism; and 

11 (ii) by imposing corresponding sanc12 tions. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term 

16 ‘‘agricultural commodity’’ has the meaning given 

17 such term in section 102 of the Agricultural Trade 

18 Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602). 

19 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT20 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com21 mittees’’ means— 

22 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

23 the Senate; 

24 (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

25 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 


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1 (C) the Committee on Armed Services of 

2 the Senate; 

3 (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

4 Senate; 

5 (E) the Committee on Appropriations of 

6 the Senate; 

7 (F) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri8 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

9 (G) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate; 

11 (H) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

12 the House of Representatives; 

13 (I) the Committee on Financial Services of 

14 the House of Representatives; 

15 (J) the Committee on Armed Services of 

16 the House of Representatives; 

17 (K) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

18 House of Representatives; 

19 (L) the Committee on Appropriations of 

20 the House of Representatives; 

21 (M) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

22 House of Representatives; and 

23 (N) the Committee on Energy and Com24 merce of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (3) MEDICAL DEVICE.—The term ‘‘medical de2 vice’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘device’’ in 

3 section 201(h)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

4 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(h)(1)). 

5 (4) MEDICINE.—The term ‘‘medicine’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term ‘‘drug’’ in section 201(g)(1) 

7 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

8 U.S.C. 321(g)(1)). 

9 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AS A 

10 STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM. 

11 (a) DESIGNATION.—Upon the enactment of this Act, 

12 the Secretary of State shall designate the Russian Federa13 tion a state sponsor of terrorism pursuant to— 

14 (1) section 1754(c) of the National Defense Au15 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (50 U.S.C. 

16 4813(c)); 

17 (2) section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act 

18 (22 U.S.C. 2780); 

19 (3) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act 

20 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371); and 

21 (4) any other relevant provision of law. 

22 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 Section 1605A(h)(6) of title 28, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘Congress or’’ before ‘‘the Sec2 retary of State’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘section 6(j) of the Export Ad4 ministration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 

5 2405(j)),’’. 

6 SEC. 5. EXCEPTIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) LICENSE REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding 

9 any other provision of this Act, the export of agricul10 tural commodities, medicine, or medical devices to 

11 the Russian Federation may only be made pursuant 

12 to a 2-year license issued by the United States Gov13 ernment for contracts entered into during the 2-year 

14 license period and shipped during the 2-year period 

15 beginning on the date on which the contract is 

16 signed. 

17 (2) CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF

18 NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS’ ACTIVITIES.— 

19 The designation of the Russian Federation as a 

20 state sponsor of terrorism pursuant to section 4(a) 

21 shall not impact certain transactions in support of 

22 nongovernmental organizations’ activities in Ukraine 

23 set forth in paragraph (b) of General License Num24 ber 23, which was issued by the Office of Foreign 


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1 Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury 

2 on March 11, 2022. 

3 (3) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Except as pro4 vided in paragraph (4), the requirements under a 2- 

5 year license issued pursuant to paragraph (1) may 

6 not be more restrictive than license exceptions ad7 ministered by the Department of Commerce or gen8 eral licenses administered by the Department of the 

9 Treasury. 

10 (4) DENIAL OF LICENSE TO CERTAIN ENTI11 TIES.—The Secretary of Commerce shall establish 

12 procedures to deny licenses for exports to the Rus13 sian Federation. 

14 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—The applicable depart15 ment or agency of the Federal Government shall submit 

16 a quarterly report to the appropriate congressional com17 mittees that describes any activities undertaken pursuant 

18 to subsection (a) during the most recently concluded cal19 endar quarter. 

20 (c) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially 

22 thereafter, the applicable department or agency of the 

23 Federal Government shall submit a report to the appro24 priate congressional committees regarding the operation 


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1 of the licensing system required under this section during 

2 the preceding 2-year period, which shall include— 

3 (1) the number and types of licenses for which 

4 applications were submitted; 

5 (2) the number and types of licenses that were 

6 approved; 

7 (3) the average amount of time elapsed between 

8 the date on which the license application was filed 

9 and the date on which the license was approved; 

10 (4) the extent to which the licensing procedures 

11 were effectively implemented; and 

12 (5) a description of comments received from in13 terested parties about the extent to which the licens14 ing procedures were effective, after the applicable 

15 department or agency holds a public 30-day com16 ment period. 

17 SEC. 6. CONDITIONS FOR REMOVING THE STATE SPONSOR 

18 OF TERRORISM DESIGNATION FROM THE 

19 RUSSIAN FEDERATION. 

20 The President may remove the designation required 

21 under section 4(a) on the date that is 30 days after the 

22 date on which the President certifies to the appropriate 

23 congressional committees, the majority leader and minor24 ity leader of the Senate, and the Speaker and minority 

25 leader of the House of Representatives, that— 


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1 (1) the Russian Federation is no longer sup2 porting acts of international terrorism; and 

3 (2) removing such designation is in the national 

4 security interest of the United States. 

Æ 


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