The majority of Americans support tougher economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia, but nearly two-thirds oppose sending arms or military supplies to Ukraine, a recent poll has shown.
The poll, conducted shortly before the White House announced a new wave of asset freezes and travel bans against member's of Putin's so-called inner circle this week, showed that college graduates were among the strongest backers of economic deterrents, with 66 percent of university-educated Americans supporting the introduction of tougher sanctions against Russia, according to a Pew Research Center report released Monday.
Those who earn $75,000 or more per year also favored harsher sanctions, with 66 percent supporting increased measures against Russia, the poll showed.
Overall, 53 percent of respondents supported tighter sanctions against Russia and 36 percent were against, while only 30 percent favored sending military supplies to Ukraine, with 62 percent against, according to the poll, conducted jointly by Pew and USA Today.
The strongest opposition to tighter sanctions came from people earning less than $30,000 a year — with only 35 percent of those polled favoring the measures — and among the youngest age group of 18-29, with 43 percent in favor.
U.S. public support for a tougher stand against Russia appeared to have grown in the wake of the annexation of Crimea, to 35 percent on March 20-23 from 29 percent on March 6-9, according to previous Pew surveys published on the pollster's website.
Meanwhile, the number of people who said the U.S. "should not get too involved in the situation" has shrunk to 52 percent from 56 percent over the same period.
The latest poll was conducted April 23-27, 2014 among 1,501 adults living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and gave a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
See also:
Americans Oppose Substantial Involvement in Ukraine, Poll Shows
