Joe Biden

Views on aid to Ukraine split along party lines in US

As Russia makes battlefield advances and Ukrainian soldiers run short on ammunition, a new poll indicates Americans have become split along party lines in their support for sending military aid to Kyiv.

The poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found Democrats were more likely to say the US government is spending “too little” on funding for Ukraine than they were in November, while most Republicans remained convinced it’s “too much.”

It is a divide reflected in Congress, where the Democratic-held Senate — with help from 22 GOP senators — passed a $95bn (£75bn) package of aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan earlier this month.

But the bill, which includes around $60bn (£47bn) in military support for Kyiv, has stalled in the Republican-held House because Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to bring it up for a vote.

President Joe Biden, along with top Democrats and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, passionately urged the Republican speaker during a White House meeting this week to take up the foreign aid package, but Mr Johnson responded by saying that Congress “must take care of America’s needs first.”

Most Republicans continue to share Johnson’s view, and their opinions have not changed significantly since the autumn: 55% say the US is spending too much on Ukraine aid, compared to 59% in November.

Meanwhile, support for increasing Ukraine aid has grown among Democrats. Around four in 10 Democrats say the US is spending “too little” on aid to Ukraine in the war against Russia, up from 17% in November.

The share of Democrats who say the US is spending “too much” or “about the right amount” has also dropped over the same period.

Chloe Henninger, 24, a Democrat from West Hartford, Connecticut, was among those who suggested the US was spending too little on aid to Ukraine – saying it was important for the US to show commitment to democracies like Ukraine that are under siege.

“From a humanitarian point of view, there were sovereign borders agreed upon internationally. And then an autocratic power went and invaded a sovereign territory. The US, as one of the major military forces in the world, sort of has a duty to respond,” said Ms Henninger, who works as a cosmetic chemist.


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