Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham announced new legislation Thursday that would designate Russia as a state sponsor of terror, a move that would put Russia in a small and notorious group of countries that include North Korea and Iran.

Their call for a vote on the bill, known as the Designating the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism Act, comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a mutual defense agreement on Wednesday.

Mr. Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, held up a photo of the two leaders meeting in North Korea, and said their meeting and pact added to the laundry list of reasons to label Russia as a state sponsor of terror. The pact would guarantee that if one of the countries was invaded and pushed to war, the other would come to its defense.

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“I rest my case,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “Two of the most autocratic, atrocity-committing offenders in the world, standing together, terrorist sponsors.”

Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said that among other things, the designation would be a morale boost to the people of Ukraine. He added that if the designation were put in place, countries that wanted to do business with Russia would be doing so “at their own peril.”

It would also bolster earlier sanctions against the Russian federation, and grant access to U.S. courts to victims of “Putin’s barbaric behavior” in Ukraine, he said.

Neither lawmaker provided a timeline on when the bill could be put on the Senate floor for a vote, but were open to forcing a vote if necessary.

Mr. Blumenthal said that he had discussed the measure with the Biden administration, and noted that while the White House is “sympathetic to the goal,” the time to label Russia a state terrorist sponsor is now.

“Here’s a general rule,” Mr. Graham said. “Anybody that does a defense agreement with North Korea should be a state sponsored terrorist.”