Follow us on social

51171957295_c5d2aa062b_o-scaled

Poll: Public support for sending military assistance to Ukraine slips

According to Associated Press survey, those who favor providing weapons to Kyiv falls below 50 percent for first time.

Europe

As the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, support for providing weapons to Ukraine has dipped slightly below 50 percent for the first time, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Respondents who either “strongly” or “somewhat” support providing weapons to Kyiv dropped from 60 percent last May to 48 percent now. The change is especially notable among those who strongly favor sending weapons, which has slipped from 36 percent to 25 percent in that same timeframe. Consequently, the number of respondents who were strongly opposed to the question increased from 19 percent to 29 percent. Across all questions, the poll shows decreasing public support for imposing sanctions, accepting Ukrainian refugees, and sending government funds directly to Kyiv, though a majority of Americans remain in favor of the first two propositions. 

The poll, which surveyed 1,068 adults between January 26 and January 30, 2023, is the the fifth poll AP-NORC has conducted on Russia-Ukraine related questions since February 2022, but it is the first since last May.  

Democrats remain more committed to Ukraine than Republicans, with a majority of Democrats affirming their support of each of the questions, though the percentage in favor has decreased across the board. 

Republicans were more split on these questions, with a slight plurality supporting sending weapons (39 percent, to 37 percent opposed, with 22 percent answering “neither”), and a 58 percent majority opposing sending direct government funds. Most Republicans continued to support economic sanctions and accepting refugees. 

Overall, a steady half of the public wants the United States to play a “minor role” in the war. However, those clamoring for Washington to play a “major role” have shifted from 32 percent in May to 26 percent today, and those who want the United States to retreat to playing “no role” have increased from 19 to 24 percent. This was the only question that was also asked in March of last year, when 40 percent wanted Washington to play a major role, and only 13 percent believed it should play no role. 

Support has waned since the last AP-NORC poll was taken in May. Since then, the level and scope of U.S. financial support has steadily grown, with Washington sending Patriot missile systems, and recently agreeing to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks. The Republican Party has won a majority in the House in last November’s midterm elections, and GOP lawmakers have begun to express skepticism over ongoing support for Ukraine. 

Confidence in President Joe Biden’s ability to handle the crisis is not especially high in either party. Forty percent of Democrats expressed “a great deal of” confidence in the president, with half of respondents having “only some” and the remaining nine percent saying that had “hardly any” confidence in Biden. Among Republicans, those numbers were two, 19, and 76 percent, respectively.


Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 6, 2021. [State Department photo by Ron Przysucha]
Europe
Nuclear missile
Top image credit: Zack Frank

Put this nuclear missile on the back of a truck — but we still don't need it

Military Industrial Complex

Last week, analysts from three think tanks penned a joint op-ed for Breaking Defense to make the case for mobilizing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program, a pivot from one exceedingly costly approach to nuclear modernization to another.

After Sentinel faced a 37 percent cost overrun in early 2024, the Pentagon was forced to inform Congress of the cost spike, assess the root causes, and either cancel the program or certify it to move forward under a restructured approach. The Pentagon chose to certify it, but not before noting that the restructured program would actually come in 81 percent over budget.

keep readingShow less
Maduro, Trump
Top photo credit: Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro (Shutterstock/stringerAL) ; President Donald Trump (Shutterstock/a katz)

Why we need to take Trump's Drug War very seriously

Latin America

Donald Trump has long been a fan of using the U.S. military to wage a more vigorous war against drug cartels in Latin America. He also shows signs of using that justification as a pretext to oust regimes considered hostile to other U.S. interests.

The most recent incident in the administration’s escalating antidrug campaign took place on October 3 when “Secretary of War” Mike Hegseth announced that U.S. naval forces had sunk yet another small boat off of the coast of Venezuela. It was one of four destroyed vessels and a total of 21 people killed since late September. The administration claims they were all trying to ship illegal drugs to the United States.

keep readingShow less
Israel Gaza deal
Top photo credit: United States and Israel flags are projected on the walls of the Old city of Jerusalem in celebration after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, October 9, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer

Will this deal work? Netanyahu has gamed everything his way so far.

Middle East

Two years into the Gaza conflict and perhaps on the cusp of a successful phased ceasefire, what can we say?

On the basis of media reporting about Yahya Sinwar’s strategic rationale for attacking Israel on October 7, 2023, it seems that he believed Israel was on the brink of civil war and that the impact of a large-scale assault would severely erode its political stability. He believed that Hamas’s erstwhile allies, especially Hizballah and Iran, would open offensives against Israel, which, in combination with Hamas’s invasion, would stretch the nation’s military capabilities to the breaking point.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.