US intends to recognise Russia as "agressor state"

The US aims to label Russia an “aggressor state” instead of a state sponsor of terrorism.

US Congress leaders are keen to quickly introduce a bill labelling Russia an "aggressor state", amid plans for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Washington on December 21, according to The Hill.

The designation is said to provide the president new sanctions authorities to target Russian officials; however, a House GOP (Republican Party) aide called it a “half-baked” response to Zelenskyy’s demand that the US designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

A congressional aide said that "the Biden administration has come up with an alternative status that doesn't even exist in US domestic or international law".

“It’s a half-baked PR measure that won’t do anything to punish Russia, nor help the Ukrainian people,” the aide added.

A version of the draft text, obtained exclusively by The Hill, says that the president, upon enactment of the measure, can designate Russia an “Aggressor State” and has the power to “designate any foreign country” as an aggressor state if the president determines it is engaged in acts of aggression against Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials acknowledged to The Hill that the aggressor state status does not fulfil their requests for labelling Russia as a terrorist state but are supportive of the measure as a way to describe Russia as carrying out acts of terrorism and can generally support coining a separate term if it provides additional instruments to punish aggressor states.