Growing Number of Americans Say US Is Giving Ukraine Too Much Aid

As the war in Ukraine nears the end of its first year, Americans are starting to believe Washington is sending too much support to Kiev. Pew Research conducted a poll in January and found the number of Republicans that are opposed to the current level of support for Ukraine is now 40%. The U.S. has pledged well over $100 billion in aid to Kiev, mostly in arms and military equipment.

In March 2022, Pew reported 49% of Republican voters believed the US was not giving enough aid to Ukraine and only 9% responded that Washington was sending too much support to Kiev. Those numbers have now nearly reversed with 40% saying there is too much support for Kiev, while only 17% said the Joe Biden administration is not doing enough for Ukraine.

Democratic voters have had a far slower, but a similar trend. In the early months of the war, only 5% of blue voters believed Washington was sending too much aid; that number has grown to 15%. However, Pew’s poll conducted in 2023 found nearly a quarter of Democrats want the White House to do more, up three percentage points from the September results.

The Pew results reflect polls conducted by Morning Consult and Concerned Veterans for America in September. The surveys found a growing number of Americans opposed to giving more aid to Ukraine, led by Republican voters.

In the opening months of the war, the White House refused to provide Ukraine with advanced American weapons. However, in recent weeks, the Biden administration has significantly escalated its support for Kiev by authorizing transfers of Abrams Tanks and long-range missiles. Some Western officials are increasingly concerned that these advanced weapons transfers to Kiev risk direct war with Moscow.

Reprinted with permission from The Libertarian Institute.

Kyle Anzalone is news editor at the Libertarian Institute, assistant editor at Antiwar.com and co-host of Conflicts of Interest. Connor Freeman is a writer and assistant editor at the Libertarian Institute, and co-hosts Conflicts of Interest.