Most voters want Ukraine to reach a settlement with Russia as the war between the two countries reaches its three-year anniversary, including a majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents, according to a new poll.
But the parties split on what the process to negotiate an end to the hostilities should look like, as Trump administration officials start to meet with Russian officials to discuss bringing the war to a conclusion, and separately negotiate a natural resources deal with Ukraine.
The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll found that 72 percent of registered voters said want Ukraine to focus on negotiating a settlement over continuing the war, including 80 percent of Republicans, 73 percent of independents and 61 percent of Democrats.
Trump’s announcement of direct negotiations between the U.S. and Russia to end the war is overwhelmingly popular among Republicans with 85 percent in favor. A slight majority of independents favor that approach, while 60 percent of Democrats are opposed.
Almost six in 10 across parties said they oppose the Trump administration leaving Ukrainian leaders out of the negotiations, including 76 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of independents. But 62 percent of Republicans said they support leaving Ukraine out of the talks.
Democrats and independents are also both cool to leaving European leaders out of the discussions, while 69 percent of Republicans support it.
Three-quarters of Democrats and almost two-thirds of independents oppose Trump forcing Ukraine to make territorial concessions to end the war, while two thirds of Republicans support it.
Roughly two-thirds of Republicans, Democrats and independents say Ukraine should receive security guarantees from the U.S. if it makes concessions with Russia.
Mark Penn, chair of the Harris Poll, told The Hill that Americans “despise” Russian President Vladimir Putin but are “weary of the cost and longevity” of the war. He said most support efforts to try to end the war, even as they don’t trust Putin to abide by the terms.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who Trump has called a “dictator” who is doing a “terrible job,” said on Sunday that he would consider resigning from office as part of a peace agreement that had Ukraine joining NATO.
Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, reiterated on Monday that Ukraine joining NATO is “not back on the table” in talks to end the war.
The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey was conducted from Feb. 19 to 20 and surveyed 2,443 registered voters. It is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll.
The survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. The margin of error is 2 percentage points.
