It's been no secret that support among the American public for funding and arming Ukraine has been steadily slipping, particularly after over the summer it became clear that the counteroffensive was a failure.
Reuters introduced the latest findings of a new poll this week by calling it a "warning sign for Kyiv". The publication wrote: "Support is falling among Americans of both major political parties for supplying Ukraine with weapons, a warning sign for Kyiv, which relies heavily on U.S. arms to fight against a Russian invasion, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll."
The new poll found only 41% believe the US government should continue sending arms to Ukraine, at a moment the Biden White House is trying to pass its $24 billion aid package to keep it flowing through next year.
Support is fading compared to prior polling from last spring, says Reuters:
The two-day poll, which closed on Wednesday, showed only 41% of respondents agreed with a statement that Washington "should provide weapons to Ukraine," compared to 35% who disagreed and the rest unsure.
Support for U.S. weapon shipments is down from May, when a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 46% of Americans backed sending arms, while 29% were opposed and the rest unsure.
We previously cited a member of the Ukrainian Parliament as saying, "We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster." This is because the shift in public sentiment in the West is clearly translating to more hesitancy for supporting Kiev from political leaders.
Lately, hawkish Congressional leaders and pundits who want to 'confront Russia' in Ukraine have shifted their argument. Increasingly we hear that Washington must support Ukraine as a 'message' to China or other autocrats in the world. Another argument has been that it all benefits American companies, particularly the arms industry. Democrats as well as Republican hawks have been making these arguments, but which have nothing to do with America's actual defense, security, and prosperity.
Watch: the antiwar left has all but disappeared, but instead we are left with pathetic scenes of college kids demanding more weapons to be sent to fuel yet another 'forever war' - such as in the below encounter with presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy...
Wild to see left-wing college kids demanding more war pic.twitter.com/l9xgsIN5rM
— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) October 5, 2023
One recent ad put out by the "Republicans for Ukraine" has even asserted the "war is good" because it ultimately hurts China and weakens Russia.
"The more Ukraine weakens Russia, the more it also weakens Russia’s closest ally China. America needs to stand strong against our enemies, that’s why Republicans in Congress must continue to support Ukraine," the ad says.