Facts & Data • September 23rd, 2025

What do Americans Think About the Russia-Ukraine War?

Victoria Pickering/ Flickr

This data analysis was originally posted on ActiVote.net (not rated).

In September 2025, AllSides and ActiVote collaborated on a survey on Russia and Ukraine with 8 questions, each with 5 possible answers. The poll was processed using ActiVote’s standard polling methodology (details in appendix A). The average sample size was 2,136 per question (ranging from a minimum of 1,902 to a maximum of 2,392) leading to an expected polling error of about 2.1%. We invite you to participate in this survey if you have not already.

For each of the questions we have looked at the overall opinion of all survey takers as well as the split based on political leanings, distinguishing between the left, moderate left, center, moderate right and the right, each representing 20% of the overall population.

On some topics, there is a clear majority opinion:

72% believe that Russia has no rightful claim on any of Ukraine’s territory
71% believe that the U.S. should increase sanctions on Russia.
70% believe that Ukraine should be in the lead in the negotiations with Russia
62% believe that a peace deal will involve compromises on both sides and/or territorial concessions.

On some topics consensus is hard to find:

94% of the left believes that we should at least provide Ukraine with any defensive military aid that they ask for, while 92% of the right believes that we should provide limited or no military aid to Ukraine.
The left wishes to balance military and diplomacy involvement, while the right is more focused on diplomacy and limited military support, if any.
74% of the left wishes to admit Ukraine to NATO immediately or in the near future, while 63% of the right wishes to reject NATO membership for the foreseeable future and possibly forever.
A plurality of 43% believes that we should continue to provide humanitarian aid, while 38% believe that we should not provide any more aid.

On these topics the majority of overall opinions were to provide limited military aid, to provide further humanitarian aid only with overwhelming bipartisan support, to balance military aid and diplomacy and to keep the door open to future NATO membership, but not take any action at this time.

The survey shows three different possible narratives, which have been summarized below. The first represents the overall opinion of the nation as a whole. The second presents the narrative of the left-most quintile of the population, while the third narrative presents the opinion of the right-most quintile of the population.

The National Opinion

The national opinion on Russia-Ukraine is that Russia has no legitimate claim to Ukraine. We should continue humanitarian aid, but limit military aid and focus on diplomacy at this point. We should maximize sanctions on Russia and postpone a decision on NATO membership for Ukraine. The allies (including the U.S.) led by Ukraine should negotiate with Russia and aim for a negotiated compromise in the near future.

The Left

The left’s opinion on Russia-Ukraine is that Russia has no claim whatsoever to Ukraine. We should provide maximum humanitarian aid and any and all military aid that Ukraine requests. We should put maximum sanctions on Russia and admit Ukraine to NATO immediately. We should balance diplomacy and military support, be part of allied negotiations with Russia, led by Ukraine, and we should aim for total victory for Ukraine.

The Right

The right’s opinion on Russia-Ukraine is that Russia does not really have a claim to Ukraine. We should stop humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. We should not invite Ukraine into NATO. We should maintain current sanctions on Russia. We should focus on diplomatic efforts where either Ukraine alone, or together with its allies (but led by Ukraine) aim to negotiate an immediate or near future settlement which will include compromises and/or major territorial concessions.

In the next 8 sections we present the summary results per individual question.

Russia’s Historical Context for Claims

The survey (answered by 2392 people) asked: “Which of these statements best reflects your opinion on Russia’s claims to Ukrainian territory?” and provided 5 answers:

Russia’s claims to all of Ukraine are valid.
Russia’s claims to all of Ukraine have some merit.
Russia’s claims to some of Ukraine are valid.
Russia’s claims to some of Ukraine have some merit.
Russia has no rightful claim to any of Ukraine’s territory.

A large majority of 72% rejects any claim from Russia, while 15% believes there is some merit to claims of some of Ukraine. Just 13% believe that Russia has significant claims to some or all of Ukraine.

Although the feelings that Russia has no claims to any of Ukraine are strongest on the left (95% of the left and 88% of the moderate left), a plurality of 40% of the right agrees, while another 25% of the right believes that Russia’s claims to Ukraine are limited.

U.S. Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine

The survey (answered by 1941 people) asked: “Which of these statements best reflects your opinion on US humanitarian aid to Ukraine?” and provided 5 answers:

The U.S. should not have provided any humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
The U.S. had already provided enough humanitarian aid and the May 2022 bill should not have passed.
With the aid covered by the May 2022 bill, the U.S. has provided enough humanitarian aid.
The U.S. should continue to provide humanitarian support, as long as it has overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress.
The U.S. should continue to provide humanitarian support to Ukraine, as long as the War with Russia lasts.

A plurality (43%) believes that we provide aid for as long as the war lasts, while another 19% believes we should continue providing aid, as long as it has overwhelming bipartisan support. There is a significant minority of 38% who believes that we have provided enough, or even too much aid already.

The left is almost unanimous (93%) in wanting to continue to provide humanitarian aid for as long as the war lasts, while the right is almost unanimous (93%) in believing that we should not provide any further humanitarian aid, showing a significant partisan divide.

U.S. Military Aid to Ukraine

The survey (answered by 1902 people) asked: “Which of these statements best reflects your views about U.S. military aid to Ukraine?” and provided 5 answers:

The U.S. should provide Ukraine any and all military aid Ukraine asks for.
The U.S. should provide Ukraine any defensive military aid Ukraine asks for.
The U.S. should provide military aid that can count on broad bipartisan support.
The U.S. should provide limited military aid to Ukraine.
The U.S. should not provide Ukraine with any military aid.

The country is split on this topic. Only 18% wishes to provide any and all requested military aid, and another 16% wishes to provide any defensive military aid, for a total of about 1 in 3 respondents. A plurality of 29% wishes to stop all military aid to Ukraine and another 22% wants to provide limited aid only, making the overall leanings of the respondents reluctant regarding further military aid.

The partisan split on this topic is clear: 94% of the left wishes to provide significant military support with a 56% majority even wishing to provide any and all military aid. A 74% majority on the right, on the other hand, wishes to stop all future military aid to Ukraine.

U.S. Role in Russia / Ukraine War

The survey (answered by 2341people) asked: “Which of the following statements best reflects your opinion on what the U.S. priority should be in supporting Ukraine?” and provided 5 possible answers:

We should focus on diplomacy only.
We should focus more on diplomacy than military aid.
We should balance diplomacy and military support equally.
We should focus more on military aid than diplomacy.
We should only focus on military approaches.

A plurality of 45% wishes to focus more on diplomacy than on military options, while another 43% wants to balance diplomacy with military support. There is little appetite (13%) to prioritize military support over diplomacy.

The left overwhelmingly (64%) supports a balance between diplomacy and military support, but another 24% focuses on military support. On the right the appetite for military support is much lower: 60% want diplomacy only, and another 20% want more diplomacy than military support.

Ukraine in NATO

The survey (answered by 2260 people) asked: “Which of the following statements best reflects your opinion on Ukraine joining NATO?” and provided 5 possible answers:

NATO should admit Ukraine immediately.
NATO should admit Ukraine in the future.
NATO should keep the door open to admitting Ukraine.
NATO should reject admitting Ukraine for the foreseeable future.
NATO should exclude ever admitting Ukraine.

There is more support for admitting Ukraine to NATO now or at some stage in the future (45%) than opposition to Ukraine joining at some stage or ever (27%). Another significant group (28%) wants to keep the door open, but not take action now.

The left leans strongly towards Ukraine joining NATO (74%) while the right leans strongly against (63%). In all groups, about ¼ wishes to kick the can down the road.

Ukraine-Russia Negotiations

The survey (answered by 2151 people) asked: “Which of the following statements best reflects your opinion on who should represent Ukraine and its allies to end the war in Ukraine?” and provided 5 possible answers:

The United States.
The U.S., Europe and Ukraine, led by the U.S.
Ukraine, the United States and Europe.
The U.S., Europe and Ukraine, led by Ukraine.
Ukraine by itself.

A majority (81%) believes that the allies should be the negotiation team. Also a clear majority of 70% believes that Ukraine should lead the negotiation. Very few people believe that the U.S. should go it alone or that the U.S. should take the lead in the negotiations.

The left clearly favors negotiations of the allies with Russia, led by Ukraine. On the right, there is also consensus that Ukraine should lead the negotiations, but a plurality of 39% believes that Ukraine should go it alone. Even on the right there is no majority support for the U.S. taking the lead in negotiations.

Sanctions on Russia

The survey (answered by 2101 people) asked: “Which of these statements best reflects your opinion on what the U.S. and its allies should do about sanctions on Russia?” and provided five possible answers:

Implement maximum sanctions against Russia.
Increase sanctions against Russia.
Maintain current sanctions against Russia.
Decrease sanctions against Russia.
End all sanctions against Russia.

A small majority (51%) wishes to put maximum sanctions on Russia, while another 20% wishes to increase sanctions. There is very little appetite for reducing the pressure on Russia (14%).

The left is almost unanimous (91%) in that sanctions should be increased, while on the right only 40% support this view. Still, even on the right only a minority of 36% believes that the pressure on Russia should be reduced.

Ukraine-Russia Peace Deal

The survey (answered by 2003 people) asked: “Which of the following statements best reflects your opinion on how the war in Ukraine should end?” and provided 5 answers:

Immediate ceasefire and peace agreement, even if it requires major territorial concessions.
Negotiated settlement in the near future that involves compromise from both sides.
Continuation of fighting until conditions are more favorable for a balanced peace deal.
Maintaining a frozen conflict or long-term stalemate without a comprehensive peace agreement.
Continuation of the war until Ukraine achieves full military victory and Russia withdraws completely.

The plurality opinion (44%) is that a negotiated compromise is the expected outcome. Only 28% believe that a full victory for Ukraine is possible.

A majority (58%) of the left believes that Ukraine will get to a full victory, while the right almost unanimously (88%) believes that either a compromise will be negotiated or that immediate concessions will be necessary.

Appendix A – Russia-Ukraine Survey Content

Each of the participants was provided with optional background information on each of these policy topics before responding. We encourage you to review the survey in detail if you have questions on what each participant read.

Appendix B – ActiVote Polling Methodology

ActiVote collects survey responses from survey takers through the ActiVote app, both available on web and smartphone (the vast majority of participants in this survey used the web version).The survey responses are weighted based on various characteristics to ensure the sample reflects the opinion of the American public at large. Feel free to review ActiVote’s polling methodology. More information about ActiVote’s polls can be found at ActiVote’s polling page.

Data,Russia,Ukraine War,Peace Talks