Americans Want Minor Role in Russia–Ukraine Crisis, More Concerned About China’s Influence

Ukrainian Military Forces servicemen of the 92nd mechanized brigade use tanks, self-propelled guns, and other armored vehicles to conduct live-fire exercises near the town of Chuguev, in the Kharkiv region, on Feb. 10, 2022. Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images

The majority of Americans from all political groups think the United States should play a minor role in a Russia–Ukraine conflict, a new poll shows.

Over seven out of ten Americans think the United States should play a minor role or no role in the conflict, the latest AP-NORC poll shows.

Republicans and Democrats hold a similar view on this issue.

However, more Democrats—three out of ten—think the United States should play a major role in the crisis. Only two out of ten Republicans and Independents think the United States should play a major role.

When asked how much confidence they have in the people who are running the U.S. military or the U.S. intelligence-gathering agencies, most Americans say they have only some or hardly any, much lower than confidence in the military.

Almost eight out of ten adults said they have “only some” or “hardly any” confidence in the intelligence agencies.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 18–22 using a probability-based panel at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,289 adults.

The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.7 percentage points.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signs documents, including a decree recognizing two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent, during a ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on Feb. 21, 2022. Alexey Nikolsy/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

The United States and other Ukrainian alliances imposed a wave of sanctions against Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine on Monday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday halted the certification for Nord Stream 2, the gas pipeline which connects Germany and Russia. President Joe Biden also imposed sanctions on the project on Wednesday.

“Yesterday, after further close consultations between our two governments, Germany announced that it would halt certification of the pipeline. Today, I have directed my administration to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers,” Biden said in a statement.

Men work at the construction site of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Lubmin, northeastern Germany, on March 26, 2019. Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images

However, Americans appear to care more about domestic issues and the threats from China amid the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

When asked what they’re concerned about as a direct threat to the United States, most people responded that they’re “extremely or very concerned” about the spread of misinformation (75 percent), cyberattacks (63 percent), extremist groups based inside the United States (63 percent), and China’s influence around the world (59 percent).

Five out of ten held the same concern about Russia.