In our latest U.S. poll of adults, 88% are concerned (very concerned and concerned combined) about a nuclear conflict between the U.S., Europe, and Russia, especially since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country's nuclear-attack system on high alert after Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. Nearly half were very concerned (48%). Only 12% of surveyed adults were unconcerned (very unconcerned and unconcerned combined)
All in all, a resounding majority of every subgroup was concerned (very concerned and concerned combined). Although, most surveyed adults were concerned, there were differences among certain sub-groups, especially when it came to the intensity of their concern.
Regionally, half of adults in the East (52%), South (49%) and West (50%) were "very concerned," while adults in the Central/Great Lakes (43%) region were the least to be "very concerned."
Men (44%) and women (53%) also viewed the crisis in Ukraine differently, as more women were "very concerned" than men.
Older adults aged 60-75 (52%) were more likely to be "very concerned" than younger adults aged 18-24 (41%).
Politically, Democrats (58%) were much more likely to be "very concerned" than Republicans (46%) and Independents (38%). This trend also repeated itself with surveyed adults' ideology as liberals were more likely to be "very concerned" (61%) compared to moderates (41%) and conservatives (46%).
When it came to race, Hispanics (55%) and African Americans (53%) were more likely to be "very concerned" than Whites (46%) or Asians (42%)
Adults who lived in large cities with more than 500K residents were some of the most fearful, as 62% were "very concerned" compared to adults living in medium sized cities (38%), small cities (41%), the suburbs (45%) and rural areas (52%).
While most adults surveyed were worried about a potential nuclear conflict because of Putin's invasion of Ukraine and Russia putting their nuclear attack system on alert, an overwhelming majority (85% very impressed and impressed combined) were impressed with the determination of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to fight back against Russia. More than half (56%) were "very impressed" while 29% were impressed and a total of 15% were unimpressed (unimpressed and very unimpressed combined).
As for intensity, adults in the East (60%) and South (61%) regions were more likely to be "very impressed" with President Zelensky's determination compared to adults in the Central/Great Lakes (51%) and Western (51%) regions.
The youngest adults aged 18-44 (41%) were less "very much impressed" with Zelensky's determination than the oldest adults surveyed aged 60-75 (75%).
Men (57%) and women (55%) were on the same page when it came to how "very much impressed" they were with Ukrainian President Zelensky's determination to stand up to Russia's aggression.
Democrats (66%) were much more likely to be "very impressed" than Republicans (53%) and Independents (52%). The same was also the case with liberals (71%) compared with moderates (54%) and conservatives (53%).
Adults living in large cities (62%) were more "very much impressed" than adults living in medium sized cities (48%), small cities (49%), the suburbs (58%) and rural areas (60%) regarding Zelensky's determination to fight back against the Russian invasion.
Surveyed adults agreed with the Biden Administration on how to solve the crisis in Ukraine. We asked adults if the war in Ukraine dragged on how the U.S. should respond: sanctioning Russia (46%) and solving the crisis diplomatically (41%) were the two most popular choices that surveyed adults expressed as the best way to deal with a long war in Ukraine. A third of surveyed respondents believed supporting the resistance in Ukraine was also an effective solution.
The least popular solutions involved military action such as bombings and soldiers on the ground and cyber-attacks (both 16%). Nearly one in five (18%) supported all the options, while 11% supported none of the options.
Most sub-groups agreed with the overall responses to how the U.S. should respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine if the war dragged on. While there were few instances where subgroups deviated from the overall responses, the few that did were somewhat drastic. For instance, younger voters aged 18-44 (23%) were ten percentage points higher to say they wanted the U.S. to respond militarily, while the oldest voters aged 60-75 (66%) were twenty percentage points higher than the overall response regarding sanctions and supporting the resistance with money and weapons (53%). The oldest voters were also the least likely to support a military response against Russia.
Politically, Democrats (51% sanctions/44% diplomatic solution), Republicans (46% sanctions/42% diplomatic solution), and Independents (42% sanctions/38% diplomatic solution) were mostly on the same page when it came to how to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine if the war dragged on. Most surveyed adults among the three parties wanted the U.S. to respond with economic sanctions and/or find a diplomatic solution.
African American (20%) and Asian (21%) adults were more likely to say they supported a military response to the crisis in Ukraine than Hispanics (13%) and Whites (11%). The same was the case with urban adults in large cities (21%), who were nearly twice as likely to support military bombings and boots on the ground in Ukraine than adults living in small cities (9%), the suburbs (11%), and rural areas (12%).
We asked adults which statement came closest to their viewpoint regarding the war in Ukraine:
Overall, a majority (57%) of adults sided with statement B, while 43% agreed with statement A. Most surveyed adults felt the U.S. has a moral obligation to defend freedom around the world, even if it comes with a cost. Even after decades of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and smaller operations in Syria and Libya, adults are still ready to take on the next challenge abroad and our polling data is telling us they want the U.S. the be the world's police officer!
While that may be noble in essence, these incursions come with a price abroad and domestically. If we were to further get entangled in Ukraine, we could see higher inflation, more disrupted supply chains, and maybe violence in the streets. At the moment, the U.S. is hanging by a thread economically, and we are as divided as ever politically. Nonetheless, certain subgroups were split in certain instances, some felt it was a contradiction for us to condemn Russia because of our own invasions in the past, while some groups that lean left and right felt it was in the best interests of the U.S. to defend Ukraine and democracy.
Adults under the age of 44 (53% statement A/46% statement B) were more likely to believe that it is hypocritical for us to invade countries and then call foul when Russia did it. Adults aged 44 and over (32% statement A/68% statement B) were more likely to agree with statement B and think we should do our duty and defend allies and countries under external threat.
Democrats (38% statement A/62% statement B) and Independents (41% statement A/59% statement B) were more likely to agree with statement B than Republicans (49% statement A/51% statement B). This was also true of liberals (37% statement A/63% statement B) in comparison to moderates (43% statement A/57% statement B) and conservatives (46% statement A/54% statement B). Politically, left leaning subgroups were more likely to feel we should defend Ukraine at all costs.
White adults (36% statement A/64% statement B) were more likely to agree with statement B than statement A, while minorities-African Americans (52% statement A/48% statement B) and Hispanics (54% statement A/47% statement B) were split about the U.S. engaging in another military conflict.
Urban adults in large (48% statement A/52% statement B) and medium sized cities (50% statement A/50% statement B) were also split, but surveyed adults in small cities (41% statement A/59% statement B), the suburbs (39% statement A/61% statement B), and rural areas (38% statement A/62% statement B) wanted the U.S. to come to the Ukraine's rescue.
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Zogby Analytics Poll Methodology
US Adults Aged 18-75
3/1/22 - 3/2/22
Zogby Analytics conducted an online survey of 1007 adults aged 18-75 in the US.
Using internal and trusted interactive partner resources, thousands of adults were randomly invited to participate in this interactive survey. Each invitation is password coded and secure so that one respondent can only access the survey one time.
Using information based on census data, voter registration figures, CIA fact books and exit polls, we use complex weighting techniques to best represent the demographics of the population being surveyed. Weighted variables may include age, race, gender, region, party, education, and religion. The party breakdown for this survey is as follows: 38% Democrat, 38% Republican and 24% Independent/unaffiliated.
Based on a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error for 1007 is +/- 3.1 percentage points. This means that all other things being equal, the identical survey repeated will have results within the margin of error 95 times out of 100.
Subsets of the data have a larger margin of error than the whole data set. As a rule we do not rely on the validity of very small subsets of the data especially sets smaller than 50-75 respondents. At that subset we can make estimations based on the data, but in these cases the data is more qualitative than quantitative.
Additional factors can create error, such as question wording and question order.
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About Zogby Analytics:
Zogby Analytics is respected nationally and internationally for its opinion research capabilities. Since 1984, Zogby has empowered clients with powerful information and knowledge critical for making informed strategic decisions.
The firm conducts multi-phased opinion research engagements for banking and financial services institutions, insurance companies, hospitals and medical centers, retailers and developers, religious institutions, cultural organizations, colleges and universities, IT companies and Federal agencies. Zogby's dedication and commitment to excellence and accuracy are reflected in its state-of-the-art opinion research capabilities and objective analysis and consultation.