US citizens strongly oppose Russian invasion, but divided on arming Ukraine - poll

The New York Times writes about this. 

50 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat support the United States providing weapons, down from 61 percent in mid-April 2022, according to the latest poll released this week by the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy and the University of Chicago's NORC, 

The poll also found that public support for imposing economic sanctions on Russia and accepting Ukrainian refugees in the United States has declined. Only support for providing Ukraine with government funds rather than weapons has remained virtually unchanged since about a year ago.

However, the vast majority of Americans - about 70 percent - disapprove of the Russian invasion. There are partisan differences: 82 percent of Democrats believe Russia's actions are an unjustified attempt to seize territory, compared to 69 percent of Republicans, according to the Harris School of Public Policy.

According to Sibel Oktay, a nonresident senior fellow of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, poll results reflect a difference between Americans' principles and what they are willing to pay for. While a "huge majority" of the public has said they believe Russia's actions are unjustified, the crucial question is whether they are “willing to send the tax dollars or send significant portions of U.S. resources to the Ukrainians to undermine these Russian efforts,” she said.

Dr. Oktay adds that the results may indicate that Americans do not feel that their country is as interested in the war today as it was last year. And these are important signals that the Biden administration should consider in its internal communication about U.S. interests in the conflict.

Even though a small group of Republicans in Congress opposes further aid to Kyiv, the Biden administration has repeatedly pledged to support Ukraine in the long term. On Sunday, at the G7 summit in Japan, US President announced a new $375 million military aid package that includes ammunition and artillery for Ukraine's armed forces. He also told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that “together with the entire G7, we have Ukraine’s back, and I promise we’re not going anywhere.”