Public support for funding Ukraine’s defense is waning in the U.S., according to a new poll from Reuters/Ipsos released Thursday.

Just 41% of respondents said Washington should provide weapons to Ukraine, 35% disagreed and 24% were unsure in the two-day poll that ended Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Forty-one percent of Americans said Washington should provide weapons to Ukraine, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday

  • Public support for continuing aid to Ukraine has dropped since May, when 46% of Americans supported providing weaspons

  • Declining support is among Democrats as well as Republicans

  • President Biden plans to make a major speech Thursday to make his case for continued Ukraine funding

The U.S. has sent about $77 billion in aid to Ukraine since the war began in early 2022, including almost $50 billion in weapons, equipment and logistics support, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. In July, President Biden asked Congress for an additional $24 billion to help with more military equipment and humanitarian and economic aid through the end of 2023, but it is uncertain whether he will get it.

The House of Representatives did not agree to the Ukraine funding request when it approved a stopgap measure to keep the government funded through Nov 17. Following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as House speaker and the ensuing turmoil it has generated in Congress, it is even less certain the president will be able to secure the money for Ukraine’s fight against Russia as the war nears its second anniversary.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has said he opposes additional funding to Ukraine. Jordan is one of two main candidates vying to replace McCarthy, along with Steve Scalise, R-La. Scalise has supported Ukraine funding in the past.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll comes as President Biden plans to deliver a major speech Thursday to make his case for continued Ukraine funding.  

The poll of 1,005 U.S. adults shows a decline in support for U.S. weapons shipments since May, when 46% of Americans supported doing so and 29% were opposed. Support is declining among Republicans and Democrats. Democratic support for arming Ukraine fell from 61% in May to 52% this week, while Republican support fell from 39% in May to 35%.

One third of Democrats and more than half of Republicans in the most recent poll agreed that Ukraine’s problems “are none of our business and we should not interfere.”