Poll: 59 Percent of Americans Support Sanctions on Russia, Are Not Keen on Military Response to Ukraine Crisis

Matthew Feeney | 3.10.2014 9:55 AM

(E. Arrott/wikimedia)

According to the CNN/ORC International survey released today almost 60 percent of Americans support the U.S. and its allies using sanctions against Russia in order to pressure Moscow into removing forces from Crimea. The poll also found that more Americans approve than disapprove of how President Obama has been handling the ongoing crisis in Crimea by 48 percent to 43 percent.

Although most Americans do support sanctions on Russia in response to the situation in Crimea the use of sanctions is opposed by 55 percent of Americans under the age of 35. CNN Polling Director Keating Holland believes that young Americans' comparative hesitancy regarding sanctions on Russia may have something to do with the fact that they don't have the memories of the Cold War that older Americans do. From CNN:

More than six in 10 older Americans support sanctions, but 55% of Americans under the age of 35 oppose them," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "It's possible that generation gap is due to older Americans' memories of the Soviet Union as the chief threat to the U.S.; many younger Americans may have no memory at all of the Cold War and most of those under the age of 25 were not even born when the Soviet Union collapsed."

While almost 59 percent of Americans do support the U.S. and its allies imposing sanctions on Russia slightly over half oppose sending economic aid to Ukraine, and over 75 percent are against sending military supplies to Ukraine.

When it comes to possible military responses to the Ukraine crisis Americans are overwhelmingly opposed, with only 12 percent of respondents saying they would support having American troops on the ground in Ukraine and 17 percent saying they would support U.S. airstrikes on Russia forces in Ukraine.

This is not the first time during Obama's presidency that polling has shown that Americans oppose military responses to international crises.

Shortly after the chemical attack in Syria last summer Reuters/Ipsos poll found that only 9 percent of Americans favored a U.S. military response.

Earlier today Reason.com published an article by Steve Chapman on the futility of sanction on Russia.