Americans almost evenly divided on military support for Ukraine – poll

Less than half of those questioned support US aid to Kiev, Pew Research has found

Less than half of Americans approve of their government giving aid to Kiev, according to research published on Monday. The poll’s result suggests that there has been a shift in public opinion on the US supplying funds and weapons to Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia.

According to the survey by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based think tank, the American public is evenly divided overall on levels of US aid to Ukraine, with 49% saying that Washington does not have any responsibility to help Kiev and 48% saying that it does.

A similar poll carried out a year ago by the Reagan Institute suggested that 59% of Americans supported providing military aid to Ukraine. According to a June 2023 Gallup poll, 62% of Americans supported the US effort to help Kiev.

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The latest survey, suggesting declining support, was published on the same day the US Defense Department announced that it will send at least $200 million worth of air defenses and other weapons to Ukraine and committed a further $1.5 billion in longer-term support to Kiev.

Since the start of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022, the Biden Administration has allocated more than $55.4 billion in “security assistance” to Ukraine, which includes a wide range of lethal weapons.

Also on Monday, US government debt reached a new grim milestone, surpassing the $35 trillion mark for the first time in history.

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The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, has said that Washington is continuing “to burn colossal money in the furnace of the Ukraine conflict” despite its ballooning debt. He added that American weapons will not help Ukraine win and will only prolong the conflict and lead to more casualties, including among civilians.