Shannon Vavra
Tue, September 6, 2022 at 8:24 PM·5 min read
GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images
In a twisted turn of events, the Kremlin and President Joe Biden are now on the same page about something over six months into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Biden said this weekend he doesn’t think that Russia should be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, and now the Kremlin is lavishing praise on the president, announcing Tuesday that Moscow is grateful for Biden’s stance that the United States should avoid designating Russia.
The Kremlin “appreciates” that Biden is not recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terror, according to TASS.
“It is good that the U.S. president responded in this way,” Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on RBC TV, according to TASS. “The very formulation of the issue is monstrous.”
If the United States were to designate Russia, Moscow would join the ranks of North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Cuba.
Russia’s Panicked Confession: This Is What Scares Us Most
The news of Biden’s interest in avoiding designating Russia a state sponsor of terrorism comes as Russia appears desperate for any wins. Ukrainian forces have begun a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine targeting Kherson, which Russian forces seized in the first several days of the war. Russia's defense minister has announced Russia is slowing down in the war. Putin is working to form a new army fighting group, but has had to lean on recruiting prisoners and eliminating an age ceiling.
A key Russian general, the director of Russia’s national guard, told Putin just last week that Ukrainians support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in an apparent attempt to reassure a visibly shaken Putin.
And over six months into the war, Putin’s military industrial complex is struggling to keep up with manufacturing to support Russian forces in Ukraine. In a sign of how desperate Russia has become, it is turning to fellow pariah state North Korea for millions of artillery shells and rockets, two U.S. officials told The Daily Beast Tuesday.