Updated: 
May 09, 2023
Updates monthly

Tracking Sentiment on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Less than half of U.S. voters see the defense and protection of Ukraine as America’s responsibility
Trend lines show the shares of respondents who agreed that “My country’s government has a responsibility to protect and defend Ukraine from Russia.”

Surveys conducted among representative samples of roughly 2,000 registered U.S. voters each, with unweighted margins of error of +/-2 percentage points.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine instigated a humanitarian crisis and rekindled the embers of the Cold War era, provoking a unified response from the West as well as most of the free world. The mostly financial nature of that response has wreaked havoc on the global economy, and the specter of potential escalation into a broader military conflict is casting a pall over the international order. Morning Consult is tracking how views of the ongoing conflict among Americans and adults around the world are shifting in the wake of Russia’s invasion, and you can find fresh data here each month.

Sign up for Morning Consult Global, our daily geopolitical email briefing.

Key Takeaways

  • Sanctions support reaches monthly low: A record monthly low of 39% of voters support imposing sanctions on Russia even if it causes inflation, in what’s a 3-point decline since March. Over the past month, sanctions support has declined 5 points among Democrats and 6 points among independents, while increasing 1 point among Republicans.

  • Americans warm to the European Union’s approach: Nearly half of U.S. voters (46%) approve of how the European Union is handling foreign policy in Ukraine, the highest monthly level since June and an 8-point increase since February.

  • Views of Russia tumble in Brazil: Russia’s net favorability — the share with a favorable view minus the share with an unfavorable view — among Brazilian adults has declined 19 points since December to minus 44.

Less Than Half of Americans Support Sanctions That Cause Inflation

Shares of the following who say “My government should impose sanctions on Russia even if it causes the price of goods to rise in my country”:

Surveys conducted among representative samples of roughly 2,000 registered U.S. voters each, with unweighted margins of error of +/-2 percentage points.

Most Americans Remain Concerned About Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Shares of the following who are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:

Surveys conducted among representative samples of roughly 2,000 registered U.S. voters each, with unweighted margins of error of +/-2 percentage points.

Few Americans Say the U.S. Isn’t Doing Enough to Halt Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Shares of each of the following who say the United States is not doing enough to halt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:

Surveys conducted among representative samples of roughly 2,000 registered U.S. voters each, with unweighted margins of error of +/-2 percentage points.

Americans’ Views on the Response to the Invasion of Ukraine

Share of U.S. voters who “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of how each of the following is handling foreign policy in Ukraine and Eastern Europe:
none

Surveys conducted among representative samples of roughly 2,000 registered U.S. voters each, with unweighted margins of error of +/-2 percentage points.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Has Damaged Its Global Reputation

Share of respondents in each country with a favorable view of Russia minus the share with an unfavorable view of Russia
none

Surveys conducted monthly among at least 808 adults in each country, with unweighted margins of error of up to +/-3 percentage points.

Methodology

The Russia-Ukraine Crisis Tracker relies on a monthly survey to track how U.S. voters’ opinions on the war in Ukraine and the U.S. role therein evolve over time. We also use daily surveys in 11 major countries to track views of Russia. The latest results are based on a survey of 1,986 registered U.S. voters conducted May 6-7, 2023, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points. The international surveys were conducted daily in April among at least 918 adults in each country, with unweighted margins of error of up to +/-3 percentage points.

In February 2023, Morning Consult changed the survey frequency of our Russia-Ukraine Crisis Tracker to a monthly cadence. To request weekly data from Feb. 24, 2022, to Feb. 26, 2023, please reach out to [email protected].

About Morning Consult

Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com.

Email [email protected] to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.

Matthew Kendrick
Data Reporter

Matthew Kendrick is a data reporter at Morning Consult covering geopolitics and foreign affairs. @matt__kendrick