Public Expresses Mixed Views of U.S. Response to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Pew Reaearch Center

Three weeks into Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, nearly half of Americans (47%) approve of the Biden administration’s handling of the Russian invasion, while about four-in-ten (39%) disapprove; 13% say they are not sure.

Roughly a third of Americans (32%) say that the United States is providing about the right amount of support to Ukraine as it fights to hold off the Russian invasion. A larger share – 42% – say the U.S. should be providing more support to Ukraine, while just 7% say it is providing too much support. About one-in-five (19%) say they are not sure.

The new Pew Research Center survey, conducted March 7-13, 2022, among 10,441 U.S. adults on the Center’s American Trends Panel, finds wide partisan differences in views of the administration’s handling of the crisis and the level of support the U.S. has provided to Ukraine.

However, virtually identical shares in both parties – 51% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 50% of Democrats and Democratic leaners – regard the Russian invasion as a “major threat” to U.S. interests.

Moreover, there are several aspects of U.S. policy toward Russia and Ukraine that draw bipartisan support. While Republicans have previously expressed skepticism about the extent to which the U.S. should work with its allies, nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73%) say that working closely with allies to respond to the Russian invasion is the right approach. An even larger share of Democrats (85%) say the same.

Americans also are largely united in their support for strict economic sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. An overwhelming majority of the public (85%) – including similar shares of Republicans (85%) and Democrats (88%) – favors maintaining strict economic sanctions. About six-in-ten Americans (63%) strongly favor strict sanctions.

Large majorities also favor keeping large numbers of U.S. military forces in NATO countries near Ukraine in response to the conflict (77%), a position shared by 75% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats.

However, most Americans (62%) say they would oppose the U.S. “taking military action even if it risks a nuclear conflict with Russia.” About a third (35%) of Americans say they would favor military action in this scenario. Comparable shares in both parties (36% of Republicans, 35% of Democrats) say they would favor military action even if it risks nuclear conflict with Russia.

And while nearly seven-in-ten Americans (69%) favor admitting thousands of Ukrainian refugees into the U.S., including majorities of those in both parties, Democrats are substantially more likely than Republicans to say this (80% vs. 57%).

The new survey also finds:

Broad public attention to Russian invasion. About seven-in-ten adults (69%) now report having read or heard a lot about the Russian invasion, compared with 23% who said they had read or heard a lot about Russia’s military buildup on its border with Ukraine in a January survey.

Today, nearly identical shares of Republicans (70%) and Democrats (71%) say they have heard or read a lot about the invasion.

Biden job approval largely unchanged from January. Currently, 43% of Americans approve of how Joe Biden is handling his job as president, while 55% disapprove. That is little changed since January, when 41% approved of Biden’s job performance.

Source: https://redint.isri.cu/wp-admin/post.php?post=2321&action=edit