In June, U.S. senators drafted a bipartisan bill that would increase economic sanctions on Russia and — for the first time — impose sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. Many countries, including the U.S., have stopped trading with Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2022. This has had a significant negative economic impact on Russia, since Russia’s economy is largely dependent on fossil fuel exports. Russia now sells oil and gas for less than the market rate to countries that are still willing to buy it, including China and India. Imposing secondary sanctions on countries that trade with Russia would be aimed at persuading them to look elsewhere for fuel imports and would thereby cut off this source of funds for Russia.
To better understand how Americans may react to this bill, YouGov ran a recent survey examining their attitudes towards the conflict, sanctions on Russia, and secondary sanctions on Russia’s trade partners. There is strong support for direct sanctions against Russia, and sanctions against buyers of Russian fuel have more support than opposition, though many Americans are unsure of the details.
Americans overwhelmingly support Ukraine over Russia
Which country do Americans sympathize with more in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine? Americans are much more likely to say Ukraine. Consistent with previous YouGov polling, 58% sympathize more with Ukraine while only 3% sympathize more with Russia. There is also a considerable share of Americans (30%) who say they sympathize more with neither side in the conflict.
Sympathy for Ukraine is much higher than sympathy for Russia across all parties. However, Ukraine support among Democrats (77%) is significantly higher than among Independents (56%) and Republicans (49%). This difference mostly comes from Independents and Republicans being more likely to say they sympathize more with neither side: 34% of Independents and 40% of Republicans, compared to 11% of Democrats. Sympathizing more with Russia is rare regardless of party: 3% of Democrats, 3% of Republicans, and 5% of Independents.
Americans largely support sanctions against Russia
Support for economic sanctions against Russia is robust. Nearly half (44%) of Americans support increasing sanctions. When combined with the 19% who favor maintaining current sanctions, a majority of Americans (63%) support either the current level of sanctions against Russia or a higher level. In contrast, only 15% favor decreasing or eliminating sanctions.
Majorities support increasing or maintaining sanctions across all parties. However, there are partisan differences in support. While 59% of Democrats support increasing sanctions, only 42% of Independents and 37% of Republicans say the same. Nevertheless, those who favor decreasing or eliminating sanctions against Russia are in the minority regardless of partisanship: Only 10% of Democrats, 12% of Independents, and 19% of Republicans would like to see fewer or no sanctions on Russia.
Support for secondary sanctions — sanctions against countries that purchase Russian oil and gas — is more mixed. About half of Americans strongly or somewhat support imposing secondary sanctions. This is much larger than the 20% who somewhat or strongly oppose secondary sanctions. A considerable share of Americans (30%) are not sure whether they would support or oppose such measures — more than the 23% unsure about sanctions against Russia.
Support for secondary sanctions is less polarized than support for direct sanctions against Russia. A majority (56%) of Democrats and about half of Republicans (51%) and Independents (48%) support secondary sanctions. Only 19% of Democrats, 21% of Republicans, and 26% of Independents oppose secondary sanctions.
While many Americans are supportive of secondary sanctions against buyers of Russian oil and gas, views are more divided on the specific form those sanctions would take. The Senate bill that introduced the idea of secondary sanctions proposed implementing a 500% tariff on trade with countries that continue to buy Russian oil. The proposal draws support from 32% of Americans and opposition from 37%; 31% say they’re not sure about such a tariff.
Unlike other questions on Russian sanctions, this aspect of the proposal draws more support from Republicans than Democrats. More Republicans support the plan (42%) than oppose it (30%). In contrast, 29% of Democrats support it and 43% oppose it. Independents are least supportive: 24% support and 45% oppose. Large shares of each group are not sure whether they would support the proposal: 28% of Democrats, 28% of Republicans, and 31% of Independents.
Most Americans don’t want to decrease military aid to Ukraine
While Americans are broadly supportive of economic sanctions against Russia, there is a bit less enthusiasm for providing military aid to Ukraine. Consistent with previous YouGov polling, 49% of Americans favor maintaining or increasing military aid. Still, this is significantly more than the 32% of Americans who favor decreasing or eliminating military aid to Ukraine.
Views on military aid are more sharply polarized by party than are views on sanctions. Many more Democrats support increasing or maintaining aid (73%) than support decreasing or eliminating it (11%). Independents are also more likely to support maintaining or increasing aid than decreasing or eliminating it, though by a narrower margin (49% vs. 34%). Republicans, on the other hand, are less likely to favor increasing or maintaining aid (33%) than to favor reducing or stopping it (48%).
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov survey
Related articles and surveys:
- COVID vaccines, presidents' health, and the war in Ukraine: May 23-26, 2025 Economist/YouGov Poll
- An increasing number of Americans think Ukraine is winning its war with Russia
- What Americans think about the Russia-Ukraine war as Congress passes Ukraine aid
- Majority support for Russia sanctions
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on June 12 - 16, 2025 among 1,133 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty (Spencer Platt / Staff)
What do you really think about President Trump, American politics in general, and everything else? Share your reality, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
