Foreign Policy Matters: Dwindling GOP Support for Ukraine

Americans Continue to Support Military and Economic Aid to Ukraine

Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a majority of Americans remain in favor of providing US assistance to Kyiv, new Chicago Council on Global Affairs-Ipsos polling finds. However, partisan splits in support are growing. 

In the February 2024 survey, less than half of Republicans (40%) wanted to continue providing economic aid to Ukraine, down from 74 percent in March 2022. GOP support for military assistance saw a similar drop, declining from 80 percent to 45 percent. A majority of Democrats and Independents continue to support both forms of aid. 

Read the full report.  ​​

The Data Dimension

Previous Council surveys show that opposition to US aid to Ukraine is more pronounced among Trump Republicans. GOP supporters with a very favorable view of the former president are also more likely than other Republicans to say that the United States should stay out of world affairs.

What We're Watching

• Emerging splits on Israeli-Palestinian conflict: While most Americans still prefer the United States remain impartial when it comes to the conflict, new Council-Ipsos polling shows a growing number are choosing sides.  
• Generational divides over foreign policy: Unlike their parents and grandparents, Millennial and Gen Z Americans don’t buy into the idea of US exceptionalism, Council surveys show. 
• Internal vs. external threats: Council data reveal Americans are more concerned about threats within the United States, like weakening democracy and political polarization, than those abroad.  
• Sesame Street’s global impact: Join the Council on March 12 for a conversation with Sesame Workshop President Sherrie Westin to learn how Sesame Street uses educational media to provide learning and hope to vulnerable children around the world.

Ask an Expert

What’s driving the drop in Republican support for US aid to Ukraine?

"In our poll in September, we asked about a series of issues that American leaders are working on and they thought that the US leadership is paying too much attention to the war in Ukraine and not enough on issues like China and immigration. That is reflective of these numbers and it's also reflective of what the Republican leadership, especially in the House, has been saying and Donald Trump has been saying.”

—Senior Fellow Dina Smeltz on the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast