Most Americans oppose major role in Russia-Ukraine conflict

A majority of Americans oppose a major U.S. role in the ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, according to a new Associated Press-NORC poll released on Wednesday.

The AP-NORC poll shows 52 percent of Americans approve of a minor role in Ukraine, while 26 percent are supportive of a major role, and 20 percent do not approve of any U.S. role in the Eastern European nation.

The results are similar between both Democrats and Republicans, with more than half of voters on each side of the political aisle approving of a minor role in Ukraine. But 32 percent of Democrats support a major role in Ukraine compared to 22 percent of Republicans.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized two breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine as independent and moved troops into the region, Biden slapped multiple sanctions on Russia, including one on the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany.

Biden, who called Putin’s troop movements “the beginning of an invasion,” has also moved troops into Europe, including in Germany, Poland and Romania. But the president has maintained that the U.S. will not be directly involved with fighting in Ukraine.

In the poll, about four in 10 Americans approve of the way Biden is handling foreign policy and relations with Russia.

Fears of Russian cyberattacks against American organizations and companies have also worried Americans, as did the warning from Biden that the U.S. could feel the effects of a Russian invasion at the pump.

In the AP-NORC poll, about 53 percent of all Americans are very or extremely concerned about Russian influence, which is up from 45 percent in August.

The poll was conducted Feb. 18 to Feb. 21 among 1,289 adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.