Americans continue to support Ukraine 6 months after the Russian invasion
Washington, DC, August 23, 2022 – A new Reuters/Ipsos poll, fielded August 16-17, 2022, shows how Americans are feeling about the war in Ukraine 6 months after the Russian invasion. Data shows that 6 months into the conflict, most Americans remain supportive of helping Ukraine and Ukrainians while continuing to push back against Russia, even if it means paying higher prices for food and energy. But there has been a drop in sentiment following the height of media coverage around the invasion, large U.S. aid packages to Ukraine, and strong sanctions against Russia.
Nearly three in five (58%) Americans report they are following the Russian invasion of Ukraine somewhat or very closely. A majority of Americans (53%) say they believe that paying more for fuel and gas because of sanctions against Russia is worthwhile to defend another sovereign country, down 10 points from March 2022 when 63% said sanctions against Russia are worthwhile to defend a democratic country, but up four points from February 2022 (49%) ahead of the Russian invasion. Two-thirds (65%) of Americans say the U.S. should take in Ukrainian refugees from the conflict, down nine points from March 2022 (74%). Fifty-one percent of Americans say they support the U.S. providing weapons to the Ukrainian military, down 20 points from March 2022 (71%).
Two in five Americans (40%) say that the problems of Ukraine are none of our business, and we should not interfere, up 6 points since late February and early March 2022 following the beginning of the invasion. Republicans (45%) and independents (44%) are more likely to share this sentiment than Democrats (34%).
About two in five Americans say that the economic sanctions on Russia are necessary to support Ukraine and encourage Russia to end the war, even if means energy and food prices will be remain higher for a while (41%), compared to the 21% who say the sanctions on Russia are not worth the economic impact they are having on food and energy prices here at home. Another two in five Americans said they did not know (22%) or chose neither response (15%).
About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between August 16-17, 2022. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 Americans age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Americans been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including but not limited to coverage error and measurement error.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Chris Jackson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]
Annaleise Lohr
Director, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
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