For the most part, the patterns of opinion on the administration’s handling of the Russian invasion are similar to those in views of Biden’s overall job performance.
Democrats and Democratic leaners largely approve of the administration’s response to the Russian invasion (69% approve), while Republicans and Republican leaners mostly disapprove (67% disapprove).
Among demographic groups, Black adults are particularly likely to approve of the administration’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: 57% approve, 20% disapprove. Hispanic and Asian adults are more likely to approve than disapprove of the Biden administration’s response, while White adults are divided (45% approve, 44% disapprove).
There also are educational differences in views of the Biden administration’s response to the Russian invasion. Nearly six-in-ten (57%) of those with at least a four-year college degree approve of the administration’s response, compared with 42% of those who have not completed college.
There is a correlation between Biden’s overall job rating and views of his administration’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Among those who disapprove of Biden’s job performance, most (63%) disapprove of the administration’s Ukraine response; still, 22% approve and 14% are not sure. Among the 43% of the public who approves of Biden’s overall job performance, very few (just 9%) disapprove of the administration’s response to the invasion, while 11% are unsure and 79% approve.
U.S. support for Ukraine
About a third of Americans overall say the U.S. is providing about the right amount of support for Ukraine, while a larger share (42%) say it is not providing enough support; just 7% say it is providing too much support, while 19% are not sure.
While there are deep partisan divides in views of the administration’s response to the crisis, views on U.S. support to Ukraine are less divided. Nearly half of Republicans (49%) say the U.S. is providing too little support; 23% say it is providing about the right amount and 9% think the U.S. is giving Ukraine too much support.
Among Democrats, comparable shares say the U.S. is providing Ukraine about the right amount of support (39%) and too little backing (38%). Just 5% of Democrats say the U.S. is giving Ukraine too much support – roughly half the share of Republicans who say the same.
There are modest ideological differences within both parties in views of support for Ukraine: A 54% majority of conservative Republicans (54%) say the U.S. is not doing enough for Ukraine, compared with 41% of moderate and liberal Republicans. Among Democrats, liberals (43%) are more likely than moderates and conservatives (34%) to say the U.S. is not providing enough support.
Among those who disapprove of the Biden administration’s response to the invasion, a majority (54%) says the U.S. is not providing enough support to Ukraine, compared with 18% who say it is providing about the right amount of support and just 13% who say it is providing too much support.
About half of those who approve of the administration’s response (48%) say the U.S. is providing about the right amount of support to Ukraine, while four-in-ten favor increasing the amount of support and hardly any (2%) say the U.S. is providing too much support.
Half of adults say Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a ‘major threat’ to U.S. interests
Half of Americans say Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major threat to U.S. interests, while another 28% say it is a minor threat; just 6% say the invasion is not a threat to U.S. interests, while 16% are not sure. This marks a substantial change since before the Russian invasion; in January, just 26% said “Russia’s military buildup near its border with Ukraine” posed a major threat to U.S. interests.
Republicans and Democrats express virtually identical views of the threat from Russia’s invasion; 51% of Republicans and 50% of Democrats say it is a major threat to U.S. interests. In January, about a quarter in each party viewed Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine as a major threat.