Most Americans in new poll oppose direct US military action to stop Russia

Most Americans in a new poll oppose direct U.S. military action to stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS, 83 percent of respondents favored economic sanctions against Russia and 62 percent said they wanted the U.S. to do more to stop the invasion.

But if economic sanctions fail, 42 percent favor more direct U.S. military action against Ukraine, while 58 percent are opposed to such a move. 

Sixty percent of independents and 56 percent of both Democrats and Republicans opposed military actions should sanctions fail, according to CNN. 

The poll comes as fighting enters its fourth day since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “special military operation” against Ukraine, which was essentially the beginning of Moscow’s invasion.

The U.S. and its Western allies have imposed a number of economic sanctions against Russia as the fighting progresses.

Earlier on Monday, the Treasury Department banned transactions from the Russian foreign investment fund and the Central Bank of Russia — a move which reduces Putin’s ability to fend off the blow of previous sanctions.

But President Biden has been clear that he would not send U.S. forces directly to fight in Ukraine.

The president has ordered about 15,000 troops to help bolster NATO’s defense capabilities along its eastern flank, and NATO on Friday activated elements of its response force for the first time in history.

Eighty-three percent of respondents favored economic sanctions against Russia, and 62 percent said they wanted the U.S. to do more to stop the invasion. 

The CNN poll was conducted Feb. 25-26 among a random sample of 1,011 adults. It has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.