US voters on aid: ‘Of course I want Ukraine to win, but…’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington to lobby President Joe Biden and Congress for more funding to support the ongoing war against invading Russian forces.

The US is the largest military donor to Ukraine, having spent over $46bn (£37bn) so far, plus tens of billions more in financial and humanitarian aid.

But continued support is far from assured, with many Republicans sceptical.

We asked our panel of US voters for their perspective.

Before the war, Virginia Seward hosted two orphans from Ukraine and 20 years ago adopted her and her husband’s daughter from Russia. She was a Bernie Sanders supporter and describes herself as progressive.

Helping Ukraine is in the interest of every country when someone is acting as Putin is. It’s imperative. I believe we should support Ukraine until they have won the war.

If we made all the corporations and the billionaires pay the taxes they owe, imagine what could we do to help Ukraine and also provide much-needed services at home? We’ve wasted money and and hurt so many other countries before, why can’t we do some good for this one?

Jim describes himself as a dedicated Republican. Foreign affairs and immigration are among his top concerns.

My stance had always been that Russian aggression needs to be repelled and that the fight in Ukraine has been a just fight for freedom and democracy with big ramifications beyond Ukraine. It had to be fought and must be fought by the Ukrainian people with our economic and hardware help.

But no more. It’s time to wind down our involvement in Ukraine and increase or at least match our level of investment in domestic needs with what we have done in Ukraine.

Maui and East Palestine, Ohio were treated like poor relations after disasters, yet the money flows nicely to Ukraine. No troubles there. It’s past time to focus on the US. All hands on deck for this country.

With parents from Denmark, Alex is first-generation American – helping Ukraine is a top issue for him. For most of his life he was a Republican, but has shifted away from the party since the US Capitol riot.

I think the aid that we are providing is very important for the people in Ukraine and the surrounding areas. As long as Ukrainians have a spirit to fight, we should continue to support.

Also, I think it’s very important for our own country. The lessons that Ukrainians are learning on the battlefield are going to save our soldiers’ lives in the next conflict. America has not fought a war like Ukraine is currently fighting since 1945. The fact that we cannot manufacture enough artillery shells and ammunition supplies to even support half of what Ukraine is consuming shows that there is a major blind spot in our defence industry.

My personal belief is that we would already be in a recession in the United States if it were not for the war in Ukraine – money spent on military equipment benefits everyone here. We should continue to supply them with whatever they need, but I do strongly feel that that should be done in terms of tanks, planes, and artillery instead of just giving them a big cheque.

Born and raised in Chicago, Lucas votes consistently for the Democrats, but is not all that pleased with the party.

This aid is unequivocally a good thing. Some might say that our aid simply goes to further warfare and suffering – it’s quite the opposite. What we are doing is helping a country who was unfairly aggressed upon get back on its feet and stand up against its attacker. We have greater means to help than any other country on Earth. It’s our duty to take a stand for Ukrainians, who have been unfairly attacked.

I would say it is not enough aid. Russia is not afraid to burn down the house that both they and Ukraine live in as long as they get to realise their imperial ambitions. Our aid needs to be massive enough to break their stalemate.

Aid should continue until Russia understands that this behaviour is not OK. Ukraine is not Russian property.

Crystal has been vocal about her support for Donald Trump over the years and echoes Mr Trump’s sentiments to put “America first”.

I can’t support more aid to Ukraine. The US has already given many billions. I feel that more money will not serve the interests of the American people.

It’s time to take care of America now, as we have a border problem that has caused a humanitarian crisis. There are over 70,000 homeless people in Los Angeles and other states are being affected by homeless problems, too. Inflation with food and gas prices are another issue that doesn’t seem to be getting better. I also think that [the government] should be more transparent with where this money to Ukraine is going.

Joshua is a Mexican/Israeli-American who is a left-leaning independent. He grew up around conservatives and appreciates conversations across the aisle. Foreign policy is a top issue for him.

The United States has done an incredible job of leading funding, and supporting the Ukrainian army from the beginning of the war, and picked up the slack where other European countries, like Germany, fell short at the beginning. Now that European countries are increasing the amount of funding and support to Ukraine, the US should be looking at more of a long-term solution to funding Ukraine.

I think we should keep supporting Ukraine till the end of this war, but American taxpayers deserve an evaluation and an understanding of where and how their money is being used. The Biden administration needs to do a better job communicating why we are giving so much money to the Ukrainian army and provide a long-term roadmap to how the money will keep Americans safe.

Laura is semi-retired and lives in a heavily Republican area. She is concerned about threats to democracy.

Ukraine has been an independent country for 30 years. Putin’s brutality has made Russia an international pariah. I’m horrified by every aspect of this invasion. When this war is over, as it will be someday, Ukraine will be a wasteland regardless of who wins. Rebuilding will take decades and require more money than has been spent so far.

I am glad that we have financially and materially supported Ukraine but I am concerned how much longer support will last. We should focus on getting material aid to Ukraine faster. I would like to say that support will go on as long as it is needed, but money and equipment are not bottomless and the American people in general have a short attention span.