Americans are divided on whether the U.S. should keep funding Ukraine, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
The survey found 48 percent of Americans saying their country has “a responsibility to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s invasion.” However, 49 percent of Americans disagreed with the idea that their country has that “responsibility” in the same survey.
The Biden administration announced Monday that the military will send Ukraine at least $200 million in air defenses and other weapons and has made a $1.5 billion commitment for the longer-term support of the Eastern European county’s defenses.
Despite the division on assisting Ukraine, Americans in the Pew survey were also mostly in favor of continuous “strict economic sanctions on Russia” due to its “invasion of” its neighbor, with 68 percent saying they either “strongly” or “somewhat approve” of the sanctions.
In a speech earlier this month, President Biden said Russia and President Vladimir Putin is “failing” at their war against Ukraine and that NATO, the key military alliance that has been a bulwark against Russia amid the war, has gained strength.
“Together, we built a global coalition to stand with Ukraine,” Biden said. “Make no mistake, Russia is failing in this war. More than two years into Putin’s war of choice, its losses are staggering. More than 350,000 Russian troops, dead, wounded. … Many young people have left Russia because they no longer see a future in Russia.”
The Pew survey was conducted July 1-7, featuring 9,424 people and a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points. The question on sanctions had 4,747 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.