Critical Issues Poll: Back Ukraine as Long as It Takes, Majority of Americans Say

Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development and director of the University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll, recently wrote an article for Lawfare highlighting some of the latest poll’s findings on Americans’ attitudes toward the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Telhami identified three major takeaways from the poll, which was conducted with SSRS among a sample of 1,514 Americans over the age of 18 from their online panel from July 29 to Aug. 7.

One finding highlighted by Telhami is that a majority of Americans (54% or respondents) want the United States to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes”—the first time this has been the consensus among a majority of respondents since the poll began asking this question in March 2023. Forty eight percent of respondents said the same in July and August 2024, preceded by 45% in September and October 2023, 43% in June 2023, and 38% in March and April 2023.

Another notable finding is that Americans are increasingly sympathetic to Ukraine compared to Russia, with 64% of respondents saying that they sympathize with Ukraine, and 2% saying they sympathize with Russia. Compared to March 2025, when a similar poll asked this same question, this is a 5% increase in the share of people who say they feel sympathetic toward Ukraine.

Yet another major finding comes from respondents’ answers to an open-ended question that asked them to list the three U.S. and world leaders that they feel pose the greatest threat to world peace and security. Respondents most frequently put Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on their list, followed by President Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Xi Jinping of China, and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

“As Trump seeks a deal with Putin to end the war, he may find himself at odds with Western allies and the American public who view Putin with suspicion and overwhelmingly sympathize with Ukraine over Russia,” wrote Telhami.

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Published on Fri, Aug 15, 2025 - 1:40PM