Support for Greater U.S. Role in Ukraine Climbs to 46% High

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Three years into the Russia-Ukraine war, 46% of Americans believe the U.S. is not doing enough to help Ukraine in the conflict, marking a 16-percentage-point increase since December to a new high in the trend that dates back to 2022. At the same time, the proportions thinking the U.S. is doing too much (30%) or the right amount (23%) for Ukraine have shrunk.

Until now, the highest percentage of Americans who believed the U.S. was not doing enough to help Ukraine was 38%, recorded in Gallup’s initial measurement of this question in August 2022. At that time, opinions were more evenly divided, with 36% saying the U.S. was providing the right amount of support and 24% thinking it was doing too much. In the first half of 2023, Americans grew more content with U.S. involvement, as those saying it was doing the right amount rose to 43% by June.

However, opinion soon shifted amid criticism by some Republican leaders about the amount of assistance the U.S. was giving Ukraine to fight the war. In October 2023, the plurality opinion, held by 41%, was that the U.S. was doing too much to assist Ukraine. Two 2024 surveys found more divided opinion, though with close to 40% still saying the U.S. was doing too much. Now that President Donald Trump has returned to the White House, the picture has changed again, and Americans’ preference for more U.S. involvement well exceeds the other views.

The latest findings are from a March 3-11 Gallup poll conducted by web after a contentious Feb. 28 meeting in the Oval Office between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended with Zelenskyy abruptly leaving the White House. The meeting, which was intended to discuss a potential deal involving Ukraine’s mineral resources and lay the groundwork for a ceasefire with Russia, ultimately ended in failure and led to the Trump administration pausing intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine on March 3. Yet after Ukraine agreed to a 30-day temporary ceasefire deal on March 11, U.S. aid and intelligence sharing resumed as Russia was evaluating the deal.

Democrats, Independents Pushing Call for More Assistance to Ukraine Higher

The latest rise in Americans’ belief that the U.S. is not helping Ukraine enough is owed to a 31-point increase among Democrats, to 79%, and a 14-point jump among independents, to 46%, since December, marking new highs for both groups. Currently, 13% of Democrats believe U.S. involvement in Ukraine is at the right level, reflecting a steep 28-point decline, while 8% feel the U.S. is providing too much assistance.

Republicans have consistently been the most likely to assert that the U.S. is providing too much aid to Ukraine, a sentiment that remains prevalent among them. However, the latest figure -- 56% -- marks an 11-point decline over the past three months. At the same time, the share of Republicans who believe U.S. support is at the right level has risen by an identical margin, likely because of backing for the Trump administration’s policy toward Ukraine.

Support for Helping Ukraine Reclaim Territory Back Above 50%

The latest poll also finds a five-point increase in the percentage of Americans who think the U.S. should continue to support Ukraine in reclaiming its territory, even if that requires prolonged involvement (53%), rather than ending the conflict as quickly as possible, even if that means ceding territory to Russia (45%). This is a change from December, when 50% wanted a quick end to the war, the highest reading in the trend for this sentiment, and 48% backed staying engaged. Before then, majorities ranging from 55% to 66% favored helping Ukraine win back its territory.

The Trump administration has pushed for a quick end to the war, though it is not clear whether that would involve Russia keeping territory it has claimed during the fighting since 2022.

The gap in partisans’ preferences for ending the war is at a new high of 60 points, with Republicans’ support for a quick end to the war steady since December at 77% and Democrats’ down 13 points to 17%.

Majorities of Democrats (82%) and independents (54%) but only 22% of Republicans support Ukraine in winning back its lost territory.

Most Americans Continue to Say Neither Side Winning War

When it comes to which side is winning the war, majorities of Americans have consistently said neither is since June 2023, when Gallup started asking the question, including 63% in the current poll. Another 26% of U.S. adults say Russia is now winning, the highest reading on record, while a steady 10% think Ukraine is winning. Earlier in the war, Americans were more inclined to say Ukraine rather than Russia was winning, but the opposite has been true over the past year.

Similar shares of Republicans (64%), independents (65%) and Democrats (59%) say neither side is winning the war, which has generally been the case since October 2023.

Americans Much More Concerned Russia Would Violate Terms of Potential Agreement

The poll also measured Americans’ concerns about a potential deal to end the war and finds that 79% of Americans are “very” or “somewhat” concerned that Russia would violate the terms of any peace agreement, including 52% who are very concerned. Another seven in 10 U.S. adults are concerned that an agreement would be too favorable to Russia. In contrast, there is far less concern about Ukraine violating an agreement (26%) or receiving overly favorable terms (20%).

More than four in 10 Americans, 43%, are concerned about NATO negotiating an agreement without meaningful U.S. involvement, which appeared possible after the Zelenskyy-Trump White House meeting but seems less likely now that Ukraine and the U.S. are in talks again.

Solid majorities of Democrats (95%) and Republicans (69%) express concern that Russia would violate the terms of any agreement, and while a similar proportion of Democrats are also worried that the deal would be too favorable to Russia, just under half of Republicans agree.

Just 12% of Democrats each are concerned about Ukraine violating the terms of any agreement or that a deal would be too favorable to Ukraine. Republicans are more than three times more worried than Democrats about Ukraine violating the deal and twice as concerned about a better deal for Ukraine.

There is no difference in partisans’ concern about the U.S. not being meaningfully involved in negotiating an agreement, and independents’ concern about each measure is similar to the national average.

Americans Open to Sending Weapons if Russia Violates Agreement

Asked what they would like to see the U.S. do if Russia were to violate the terms of an agreement, 64% of Americans say they would favor sending additional weapons and military supplies to Ukraine. However, support is much lower for U.S. airstrikes against Russian military targets in Ukraine (42%) or sending U.S. ground troops to support Ukraine (30%).

Majorities of Democrats would support sending additional weapons (86%) or conducting airstrikes (59%), but fewer, 47%, would back U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine. Republicans are much less open to each measure -- 46% favor sending weapons, 32% striking Russian military targets by air, and 16% sending U.S. troops into Ukraine.

Bottom Line

Americans’ opinions of the Russia-Ukraine war have shifted significantly in the past three months in the wake of Trump’s inauguration and a change in U.S. policy toward Ukraine. A new high 46% of Americans, including a broad majority of Democrats and almost half of independents, now believe the U.S. isn’t doing enough to support Ukraine. Despite partisan divides, a slim majority of U.S. adults now back continued U.S. support to help Ukraine reclaim lost territory, reversing the 2022-2024 trend toward seeking a quicker end to the war.

Looking ahead, this increase in public preference for stronger U.S. involvement may pressure the Trump administration to recalibrate its Ukraine policy, especially if Russia violates potential ceasefire agreements. For now, while there’s strong bipartisan skepticism about Russia’s trustworthiness in any peace deal, Democrats are far more willing than Republicans to escalate U.S. support, including taking direct military actions.

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