Most Americans in new survey say Russia started war in Ukraine

Most Americans think Russia started the war in Ukraine, with those who said Kyiv was first to attack were in single digits, according to a survey published Wednesday.

The YouGov poll found that 61 percent of U.S. adults think Russia started the conflict in Eastern Europe that has been raging for nearly three years, while some 6 percent said Ukraine was the one to kick it off.

About 15 percent of respondents blamed both sides equally while 18 percent were not sure, the poll found.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but President Trump seemed to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war, saying Tuesday that he “should have never started it.” The Ukrainian president said the next day that the U.S. president was living in a Russian “disinformation space.”

Trump continued to hammer Zelensky, saying he has done a “terrible job” as the nation’s head, accusing him of exploiting the U.S. to garner aid and claiming his approval numbers dipped into single digits. He also called Zelensky a “dictator.” 

Nearly half of Americans, 45 percent, do not think that Ukraine’s president is a dictator. About 22 percent think he is, while a third of respondents were not sure, according to the survey. 

Trump’s comments are part of the escalation of tension between the two leaders. Zelensky shot down the initial offer from the U.S. to have ownership of 50 percent of Ukraine’s rare Earth minerals. 

The U.S. has begun talks about forging a peace agreement in Eastern Europe. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and the special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff sat down for a meeting in Saudi Arabia with Russian officials to discuss ending the war. The U.S. and Russia are seeking to bolster ties after the relationship between the two nuclear-armored powers soured during the previous administration. 

A joint press conference between Zelensky and Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, was canceled Thursday at the request of the U.S. side, according to the Ukraine president’s spokesperson Serhii Nikiforov. 

The poll was conducted Feb. 19 with 4,071 Americans.