Support among the American public for providing U.S. military aid to Ukraine has lessened, according to a new AP-NORC Poll.
The poll’s results come less than ten days before Ukraine marks one year since it was invaded by Russia.
According to the poll, 48% say they favor the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine while 29% say they’re opposed and another 22% neither favor nor oppose the act. That’s compared to 60% of Americans polled who said in May that they favored sending weapons to Ukraine.
Military experts tell Political IQ that high-tech Western supplied weapons have been a game-changer for Ukraine as it defends its sovereign nation against Russia’s superior number of troops. In particular they point to the tanks recently promised—and in some cases already supplied—by the U.S., Germany and other nations, as well as the 20 or so HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) that the U.S. has supplied.
Americans are about evenly divided on sending funding to Ukraine, with 37% in favor, 38% opposed, and 23% saying they’re neither. Congress approved its latest round of aid to Ukraine in December—roughly $45 billion within the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package. It’s designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, depending on the situation on the battlefield.
The poll also comes as Biden has planned a trip to Poland and other parts of Europe to mark one year since Russia’s February 24 invasion. According to those polled, 19% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in Biden’s ability to handle the situation in Ukraine, while 37% say they have only some confidence and 43% have hardly any.
Those views are largely divided along partisan lines with 40% of Democrats saying they have a great deal of confidence in Biden to handle the situation, 50% have some confidence and 9% have hardly any. That’s versus 76% of Republicans saying they have hardly any confidence. These numbers are virtually unchanged since May.
Meanwhile, a majority of those polled—63%—still favor imposing economic sanctions on Russia, although that’s down from 71% in May.
