Support for aid to Ukraine in decline across West – media

Backing further assistance to Kiev is less popular both in the US and Europe, the Economist has reported

A year into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, public support for military and financial assistance to Kiev is in decline in the West, a joint survey by the Economist magazine and the pollster YouGov has shown.

Even the most ardent backers of Ukraine are now less enthusiastic about supporting the country, the Economist added, while revealing the poll results on Monday.

Among US Democrats, support for financial aid to Kiev fell from 82% to 75% between April 2022 and February 2023, the poll revealed. Republican support for similar measures almost halved over the same period, from 67% to 39%, it added.

Sending battle tanks to Kiev still appeared to be a popular option, as their delivery to Ukraine was supported by 70% of Democrats and just under 50% of Republicans between late January and mid-February 2023. A poll conducted by the Associated Press in mid-February showed, however, that less than a half of Americans support military aid to Kiev.

Public backing for further restrictions against Moscow that could increase the cost of living in Europe has sharply declined in major European nations over the past year, according to the poll.

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In February 2022, 45% of Britons said they would favour such sanctions, but in December 2022 the level of support for the measures dropped to 35% in the UK. In Germany, it fell from almost 40% to less than 30% over the same period, while Spain, Italy and France followed a similar trend.

Another poll published by YouGov on February 24, showed that people in some European nations, including France and Italy, tend to favor a negotiated solution to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, over supporting Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”

In Italy, 47% of respondents said they would like to see a negotiated end to the fighting, even if it means Kiev having to cede control over some territories to Russia. In France, 38% of people supported this option. Only 29% of Italians and 37% of the French believed Kiev should be supported further, even if it means the conflict will last longer.

Major European nations also saw a decline in support for almost all types of aid to Kiev over the second half of 2022. Most Europeans also believed that conflict had reached a stalemate, with Spanish citizens believing Russia was gaining the upper hand in it. The idea that Kiev is winning the conflict was shared by only a small minority in the European nations covered by the poll.