Majority of Americans Believe Sending Troops to Ukraine A Bad Idea: Poll
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A YouGov America poll found that a majority of Americans believe that sending troops to Ukraine to fight Russian soldiers is a very bad idea.
The poll found that Americans generally favor supporting Ukraine through financial aid and economic sanctions on Moscow in the event of a so-called invasion.
The poll asked respondents whether they thought a variety of potential US responses to a Russian invasion of Ukraine was a good idea, a bad idea, or not sure. Russia has not invaded Ukraine and Moscow has consistently refuted Western intelligence reports that an invasion is imminent, Sputnik reported.
Approximately 55% of poll respondents believe that sending troops to Ukraine to fight Russian soldiers is a bad idea, while only 13% believe it is a good idea, according to the results.
Another 50% of poll respondents agreed that it is a good idea to impose economic sanctions on Russia should it invade Ukraine, whereas 20% of respondents agreed economic sanctions would be a bad idea.
Some 42% of poll respondents were unsure if it was even a good idea to allow Ukraine into the NATO military bloc.
The poll showed that there was a significant divide between Democrat and Republican respondents over how to best deal with a possible invasion of Ukraine.
Republicans were more likely to respond negatively to poll questions regarding imposing economic sanctions on Russia, allowing Ukraine to join NATO, sending financial aid to Ukraine, sending troops to NATO ally countries in eastern Europe, sending weapons to Ukraine, and sending soldiers to Ukraine to provide help - but not fight - Russian soldiers.
The largest divide between the political parties was over sending troops to NATO allies in eastern Europe. Some 52% of Democrats answering the poll believed that sending troops to eastern Europe was a good idea, compared to 15% who said it was a bad idea. Another 34% of Republicans said it was a good idea, while 29% thought it was a bad idea.
Sanctions for Russia and financial aid for Ukraine, in the event of an invasion, appear to be the two routes that could garner bipartisan support, according to the poll.
The poll did not provide for the respondents to offer a rationale for their answers.