Four years after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, most Americans side with Ukraine in its war with Russia. But few Americans think Ukraine is winning and Americans are split over how much military aid the U.S. should provide Ukraine.
What you need to know about Americans' views on the Russia-Ukraine war, as of the February 20 - 23, 2026 Economist / YouGov Poll:
- 61% of Americans sympathize more with Ukraine, compared to only 3% who sympathize more with Russia; 22% who take neither side
- Majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all say they sympathize more with Ukraine, but more Democrats than Republicans side with Ukraine (78% vs. 52%)
- Republicans who are MAGA supporters are less likely than non-MAGA Republicans to sympathize more with Ukraine (45% vs. 63%)
- Americans who don't sympathize more with Ukraine are most likely to say they sympathize with neither side, rather than that they sympathize more with Russia
- 54% of Americans say they care who wins the Russia-Ukraine war, while 26% say they don't care and 20% aren't sure if they care
- Among those who care who wins, an overwhelming 91% sympathize more with Ukraine, compared to 2% who side with Russia and 5% who take neither side
- Among those who don't care who wins, only 26% sympathize more with Ukraine, while 4% sympathize more with Russia and a 59% majority take neither side
- 31% of Americans want to increase military aid to Ukraine, while 22% would maintain the same amount of aid, 11% would decrease aid, and 13% would stop military aid altogether
- Most Democrats want to increase or maintain military aid to Ukraine, while Republicans are split on the topic
- 72% of Democrats want to either increase aid to Ukraine (53%) or maintain it (19%), while 9% would decrease (7%) or stop (2%) it
- 40% of Republicans would increase (13%) or maintain (27%) aid to Ukraine, and 38% would decrease (17%) or stop (21%) it
- Most Economist / YouGov polls over the past year have, like this one, found slightly higher support for increasing military aid for Ukraine than for decreasing or stopping it — a reversal from the prior year
- 23% of Americans say Russia is currently winning the war, while 14% say Ukraine is and 37% say neither side is
- Americans have been more likely to say Russia is winning than to say Ukraine is in most of the Economist / YouGov polls taken over the past two years that have asked about it. Ukraine was more often seen as winning in polls conducted during the first two years of the war
- Among Democrats, 18% say Russia is winning and 20% say Ukraine is, while among Republicans, 29% say Russia is winning and 12% say Ukraine is
- Americans who support increasing military aid to Ukraine are 8 points more likely to say Ukraine is winning than to say Russia is, while those who want to stop all military aid are 35 points more likely to say Russia is winning
- Americans who care who wins the Russia-Ukraine war are 2 points more likely to say Russia is winning than that Ukraine is, while those who don't care who wins are 18 points more likely to say Russia is winning
- 34% of Americans think it's more likely that one year from now, Ukraine will be an independent nation, while 15% think it's more likely that it will be under Russian control; 51% aren't sure
- 31% of Americans strongly or somewhat approve of how Donald Trump is handling the Russia-Ukraine war, and 49% disapprove
- 6% of Americans say Trump is too supportive of Ukraine in the war, 39% say he's not supportive enough of Ukraine, and 30% say he's about right
- That compares to Americans' views on how Joe Biden handled the Russia-Ukraine war: 21% say Biden was too supportive of Ukraine, 22% that he wasn't supportive enough, and 26% that he was about right
- 54% of Americans say Russia should not be allowed to participate in international competitions, such as the Olympics, World Cup, or Eurovision, so long as its invasion continues, while 20% say Russia should be allowed to participate and 26% aren't sure
Image: Getty (Diego Fedele / Stringer)
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