Americans Support Sanctioning Russia For Invading Ukraine But Are Reluctant To Deploy Troops

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

On Thursday, Russia invaded Ukraine, precipitating the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II. In response, President Biden has delivered on his promise to impose sweeping economic sanctions against Russia, after weeks of saying he would institute severe sanctions against the country in such an event.

It’s unclear at this point what these sanctions will do to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin in his invasion of Ukraine, but the sanctions issued by the U.S., in partnership with its allies, intend to hobble Russia’s economy by restricting its major banks’ ability to conduct business as well as the country’s overall ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace, including in particular its ability to bolster its military. In his address earlier this afternoon, Biden also reaffirmed financial and humanitarian support for Ukraine and promised that U.S. military forces in Eastern Europe would defend America’s NATO allies, but he was adamant in saying that American troops would not fight against Russia in Ukraine.

It’s still very early in understanding how the U.S. and its allies will respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but one key factor in how the Biden administration charts its path forward will undoubtedly hinge on the American people’s receptiveness to U.S. involvement in this conflict. And on that point, recent surveys suggest that Americans are leery of U.S. intervention in Ukraine, especially when it comes to sending American troops. This attitude hasn’t changed much in the past few weeks, either, even as a Russian invasion became more likely. Americans continue to have strongly negative views of Russia and support imposing strict sanctions that could damage the Russian economy, but Americans don’t yet seem ready to support direct U.S. military action.

There’s little doubt that Americans view Russia as a threat, though. Indeed, 71 percent of Americans told The Economist/YouGov this week that Russia posed a somewhat or serious threat to the U.S., with 41 percent calling Russia an “immediate and serious” threat — higher than for any other country or group the poll asked about. And in the same survey, 52 percent said it was more important for the U.S. to take a “strong stand” against Russia to prevent it from taking over Ukraine, compared with 24 percent who said it was more important to maintain good relations with Russia. On that question, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans prioritized opposing Russia in the Ukraine situation.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/americans-currently-support-sanctioning-russia-for-invading-ukraine-but-are-reluctant-to-deploy-troops/

[C_U_L8R]

1. Putin threatens the world.

We have skin in this no matter what we think or the polls say. But the polls do show how lazy and cowardly some have become.