Zelensky calls for recognition of Russia as ‘terrorist state’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US senators on Saturday (14) and called for Russia to be officially recognized as a “terrorist state”.

“I had conversations today with a delegation of US senators led by Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell in Kiev,” Zelensky said.

“I believe this visit once again demonstrates the strength of bipartisan support for our state, the strength of ties between the Ukrainian and American nations,” he continued.

Discussions about US support for Ukraine and tightening sanctions on Russia also took place during the meeting, according to Zelensky.

“I expressed gratitude for the historic decision to renew the Lend Lease program. I asked for official recognition of Russia as a terrorist state,” Zelensky said.

United States President Joe Biden signed into law the Ukraine Democracy Defense Loan-Lease Act of 2022 on May 9.

The new law, which eases some requirements for the US to lend or lease military equipment to Ukraine, passed with a bipartisan majority in the US House and Senate.

His backers said the legislation gives Biden much broader authority to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia and addresses how the US can get weapons into Ukraine more quickly.

The Ukrainian president also highlighted food security in his nightly speech, an issue he said he deals with “on a daily basis”.

“More and more countries around the world are realizing that Russia, by blocking off the Black Sea for us and continuing this war, puts dozens of other countries at risk of a food price crisis and even famine,” Zelensky said. . “This is another incentive for our anti-war coalition to act more decisively together,” concluded Zelensky.