KYIV (Reuters) – Two U.S. senators seeking to pass legislation labeling Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism” visited Ukraine’s capital on Thursday to discuss the bill with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Republican Lindsey Graham told Reuters in a joint interview with Democrat Richard Blumenthal that the bill would put Russia “in the same category as Iran, Syria and North Korea.” Graham said he believes he could get near-unanimous support in the U.S. Senate. Zelensky thanked the senators for their work and emphasized the importance of bipartisan support from the US. Blumenthal cited photos he saw of suspected atrocities by Russian forces in the Kiev satellite city of Bucha in March as evidence that Russia deserved the designation. Ukrainian and international prosecutors are investigating who is responsible. “If that’s not terrorism, I don’t know what is,” he said. Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 and Moscow denies they targeted civilians. SUPPORTING REBELLIONS Both senators said they believed Ukraine could effectively use an insurgency in Russian-held territory, along with US-supplied weapons systems, to launch a counteroffensive and take back Russian-held territory. “Long-range artillery is very, very important. But so is the hand-to-hand insurgency that we hope to see in eastern Ukraine, in the territory already taken by the Russians,” Blumenthal said. Blumenthal also said he supported further arms supplies to Ukraine, including “longer-range” HIMARS missile systems, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and air defense systems, provided Ukraine did not use them to attack Russian territory. The Biden administration had previously refused to give Ukraine longer-range HIMARS munitions, with a range of up to 300 miles, amid concerns that Ukraine could use the weapons offensively rather than defensively. The story continues Graham stressed the need for urgency in the arms shipments, echoing calls from Ukrainian officials for a quick handover as they try to hold on to parts of the eastern Donbass region sought by Moscow. “We have an opportunity here in the next 60 days … the decisions we make can turn the tide of this war in favor of Ukraine,” Graham said. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was just getting started in Ukraine and dared the West to try to defeat it on the battlefield, while insisting that Moscow was still open to the idea of ​​peace talks. (Reporting by Max Hunder and Sergiy Karazy; Editing by Grant McCool)