EXPERT COMMENT
Americans are voicing their support for Ukraine. But in the face of inflation, rising prices and partisan divides, public opinion may change.
This is the Balkans on steroids,' commented James Clapper, the former US Director of National Intelligence, and a retired Air Force lieutenant general, on 5 March on CNN. The images of wanton barbarity will have an impact.'
That impact is already evident in recent US public opinion polling in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Americans have become more supportive of Ukraine and more willing to help Kyiv.
But pre-war surveys found profound American unwillingness to get involved in Ukraine's defence, raising doubts about the sustainability of both US military support of the beleaguered nation and current and any future economic sanctions on Russia.
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