Critical Issues Poll: Public Support for Ukraine Remains Strong Under New Administration

More Respondents Than Not Also Express Feeling More Sympathetic to Ukraine Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House Visit

The latest University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll finds that a majority of Americans remain steadfast in their support for Ukraine amidst its ongoing war with Russia. In fact, compared to a poll conducted in August 2024, the share of Americans who said they sympathized with Ukraine in this iteration of the poll (59%) is nearly identical to those who said the same last August (62%), when taking into account the poll’s margin of error (+/-3.7%).

In both polls, only 2% of respondents said they sympathized with Russia.

“I expected strong support for Ukraine but I was surprised that support remained virtually unchanged since last summer, given that President Trump has weighed in so heavily on this issue, with criticism of Ukraine and its president,” said Director of the Critical Issues Poll, Department of Government and Politics (GVPT) Professor Shibley Telhami.

The most recent Critical Issues Poll also revealed insights on Americans’ feelings about the Russia-Ukraine conflict in light of related, recent actions by the new presidential administration. Conducted among a sample of 1,004 U.S. adults from March 7-9—a week after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House, and a few days after it was announced that the U.S. would suspend aid to Ukraine—the poll found that 48% of respondents oppose the decision to suspend aid to Ukraine, and 35% support the decision.

With regard to the White House meeting, 53% and 49% of Americans, respectively, viewed Trump’s and Vance’s behavior during the meeting with Zelenskyy as inappropriate. By comparison, only 38% of Americans said Zelenskyy’s behavior was inappropriate.

GVPT Professor Michael Hanmer, who advised on the poll, noted: “If Trump and Vance hoped to move the American public against Ukraine, the poll shows they largely failed.”

One-third of respondents said that the meeting did not impact their attitude about the conflict, but just shy of another third of respondents (31%) said that the meeting made them more sympathetic to Ukraine. Nineteen percent said the meeting made them less sympathetic to Ukraine.

However, similar shares of respondents said that all three leaders were ineffective in advancing the interests of their countries: 45% said Trump was ineffective, another 45% that Vance was ineffective, and 50% that Zelenskyy was ineffective.

“It is clear that, on the Ukraine-Russia issue, President Trump is swimming against the tide,” concluded Telhami.

Learn More about the Critical Issues Poll

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Published on Fri, Mar 21, 2025 - 1:24PM