Opinions Mixed on America’s Role in Russia-Ukraine War

After months of debate, President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package into law Wednesday, with $61 billion in aid going to Ukraine. This increases the total U.S. aid committed to Ukraine to more than $130 billion since the war began in February 2022. However, given the mixed opinions on U.S. involvement in the war, the question arises about how the ongoing aid will affect the presidential election in November.

A recent Economist/YouGov poll offers insights into the electorate's views on Biden's response to the Russia-Ukraine war. The poll, conducted April 21-23 among 1,651 U.S. citizens, found that only 28% supported increasing military aid to Ukraine, while 29% supported decreasing it and 26% favored maintaining the same level. Among Democrats, 48% supported an increase in aid; independents and Republicans favored decreasing aid at 35% and 43%, respectively.

Despite a minority supporting an increase in aid to Ukraine, 68% viewed Ukraine as an ally or friendly, while only 14% saw it as unfriendly or an enemy. Conversely, 83% viewed Russia as an enemy or unfriendly, and only 4% as an ally or friendly. The poll indicated that respondents believed Biden shared these views, with 75% saying they thought Biden viewed Russia as an enemy or unfriendly and 77% believing he saw Ukraine as an ally or friendly.

However, opinions were more divided regarding former President Donald Trump, with 42% believing he viewed Russia as unfriendly or an enemy, and another 42% thinking he viewed Russia as an ally or friendly. Opinions were similarly split on his view of Ukraine, with only 36% believing he viewed Ukraine as an ally or friendly and 48% seeing the country as unfriendly or an enemy.

So far, Trump has refrained from publicly commenting on the latest funding bill. However, last week, he posted his thoughts on Truth Social about the U.S. role in defending Ukraine: “Why is it that the United States is over $100 Billion Dollars into the Ukraine War more than Europe, and we have an Ocean between us as separation... As everyone agrees, Ukrainian Survival and Strength should be much more important to Europe than to us, but it is also important to us!”

A CBS News poll conducted April 9-12 among 2,399 U.S. adults also provided insights into public opinions about the war. It found that 55% did not think the United States had a responsibility to act in the Russia-Ukraine war, while 45% believed it did. In addition, while 38% believed that additional U.S. aid to Ukraine would stop Russian military action in Europe, 25% said it would encourage more Russian military actions, and 36% thought it would not affect Russia's actions in Europe.

The poll also found that only 39% approved of Biden's handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, while 61% disapproved. The current RCP Average for Biden's approval on the Russia-Ukraine war shows 54% disapprove and 40.7% approve of his handling of the conflict.