As the war in Ukraine drags on, Americans are divided over how long the US should continue supporting the besieged country.
A new poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs reveals that less than half of Americans are currently in favour of supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes” in its fight against the Russian invasion — a significant drop from 58 per cent in July 2022.
The decline comes amid a months-long counter-offensive in which Ukrainian forces have recaptured huge sections of territory, including the crucial eastern city of Kherson.
But Ukraine's battlefield victories have been tempered by vicious Russian aerial attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, at times plunging millions into darkness.
Since the Russian invasion on February 24, the US has sent nearly $32 billion in aid to Ukraine, including $400 million in additional military assistance in November and $53 million in aid for badly needed energy equipment.
A majority of Americans as a whole support the country’s continued military and economic assistance to Ukraine, but support among Republicans appears to be dwindling.
Only 55 per cent of Republicans now support US military aid to Ukraine, down from 68 per cent in July and 80 per cent in March.
Republican leaders in Washington reflect that drop in support. Representative Kevin McCarthy, the Republican nominee to be the next Speaker of the House has said that his party will not write a “blank cheque” to Kyiv.
Democratic support for Ukraine has remained relatively unchanged since the start of the conflict, the survey showed.
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The coffin of Valeriy Krasnyan is brought out of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. Getty Images -
Repairmen work near a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod, outside of Kyiv. AFP -
An elderly man walks in front of a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod. AFP -
A boy kisses a dog while he charges his phone at the heating tent dubbed a Point of Invincibly in Bucha, Ukraine. AP -
A couple uses a laptop in the heating tent. AP -
Workers dig out a tire from the rubble of a destroyed storage building at a grain processing center so they can use it for repairs in Siversk, Donetsk region. Reuters -
The Chernihiv region found itself on the frontline of Russia's invasion in February, when Moscow's forces were attempting to quickly seize Kyiv. Getty -
Russia ultimately retreated from northern Ukraine to focus its attack on the east and south. Getty -
The city of Chernihiv on November 28, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Getty -
A worker fits in new windows of a building in Chernihiv. Getty -
People receive food from AFAT - Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency in Chernihiv. Getty -
The people Chernihiv queue up for hot food. Getty -
Oleksandr Antonenko stands on a balcony of his apartment damaged by a recent Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters -
Mr Antonenko and his mother Liudmyla inside their apartment recently damaged by a Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters -
A woman walks in an underpass in Kyiv, on November 26, 2022. AFP -
Friends hug after the arrival of a train in the southern city of Kherson. Getty -
Residents sort through donated clothing at an aid centre in Kherson. Getty -
A Ukrainian soldier stands with a machinegun near Liman in the Donetsk region. AP -
Children attend a physical education class at Spilno School in Kyiv. Getty -
A woman embraces her friend, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, in Kherson. AFP -
Residents inspect a crater left by a Russian military strike in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters -
Resident Tetiana Reznychenko walks past a work by world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy, on the wall of a destroyed building in the Ukrainian village of Horenka. Reuters -
Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. AP -
A fisherman sails his boat on the Dnipro as black smoke rises from an oil reserve in Kherson. AFP
Despite recent battlefield gains, Americans' perception of who is winning the conflict appears to be split, with 46 per cent of people believing the conflict is at a stalemate.
Twenty-six per cent believe Russia has the advantage, while another 26 per cent believe Ukraine has the upper hand.
The US has long maintained that it is up to Ukraine to decide if and when it is ready for peace talks, but President Joe Biden said last week he would be willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin if the Russian leader was “ready to look for a way to end the war”.
“He hasn't done that yet,” Mr Biden said.
