Majority of Americans want a time limit on Ukraine aid: Gallup poll

American public support for the war in Ukraine is declining and a majority of adults believe U.S. financial aid to Kyiv should be time-limited, according to a new Gallup poll.

According to Gallup, 61 percent of U.S. adults said there should be “a time limit” on American aid to Ukraine, compared to 37 percent who said the U.S. should continue its support “as long as Ukraine requests it.” . The reaction was largely bipartisan: 84 percent of Republicans supported a time limit on Ukraine aid. But 34 percent of Democrats said they also support a time limit on U.S. aid.

According to the Gallup poll, a majority of Americans, 41 percent, said they believe the United States is doing “too much” to help Ukraine expel Russia from its borders. That’s a sharp increase compared to 29 percent of adults who felt the same way in June and 24 percent who shared that view in August 2022, six months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The poll found that opposition to the Ukraine war is particularly strong among Republicans and independents. Among Republicans, 62 percent now say the U.S. is doing too much for Ukraine, up about 20 percent from August 2022.

Nearly half of all independents agree, compared with just 14 percent of Democrats who say America is doing too much to help Kiev.

The numbers underscore a political challenge for President Biden as he pushes Congress to continue providing military aid to Ukraine and authorize additional funding to support Israel in its war with Hamas.

In an Oval Office address last month, Biden called on Congress to approve $106 billion for border security in Ukraine, Israel and the United States. Biden argued that supporting America’s allies is an important U.S. national security concern.

The additional aid to Ukraine would allow the US to send Kiev “the weapons they need to defend themselves and their country without interruption,” Biden said at the time. With the support of its allies, Ukraine has regained control of 50 percent of the territory that Russia captured at the start of the war, Biden added.

“What would happen if we left?” Biden asked.

Democrats in Congress have sided with Biden on the Ukraine issue, but his argument failed to convince conservative lawmakers, including newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson. The Louisiana Republican has called for a separate aid package for Israel, which could delay additional aid to Kiev.

Another worrying sign for Biden as he seeks to win public support for Ukraine is that 64 percent of Americans said neither Ukraine nor Russia would win the war. Sentiment cut across party lines: 66 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of Democrats said neither side would win the war.

The Gallup poll of 2,007 adults was conducted Oct. 4-16 and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.