Republican support for arming Ukraine and sanctioning Russia continues to increase steadily as President Trump considers selling Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
A Harvard/Harris poll taken earlier this month observed that growing numbers of Republican voters are in favor of further arming Ukraine if Russia continues to balk at peace talks.
The survey found that 73 percent of GOP voters believe the U.S. should provide weapons to Ukraine and impose sanctions if Russia does not negotiate an end to the war. It marks a 14 percent increase from May, when 59 percent of Republicans wanted to arm Ukraine.
The 73 percent figure is also a 6 percent jump from August, when Harvard/Harris found that 67 percent of Republicans favored arming Ukraine and hitting Russia with more sanctions.
Trump told reporters Sunday he is considering sending Ukraine tomahawk missiles if Russia does not end the war. Tomahawks can hit targets 1,000 miles away and would provide a major boost to Ukraine’s long-distance capabilities.
“While Russia refuses to negotiate, continues to bombard Ukrainian civilians, abduct children, and torture Christians, Republican voters are standing with Ukraine and strongly back President Trump’s peace through strength approach to ending this war,” said Stephen E. Moore, founder of the Ukraine Freedom Project, a pro-Ukraine humanitarian and policy organization.
Harvard/Harris’s poll shows a whopping 86 percent of Republicans support additional economic sanctions on Russia to force an end to the war. An overwhelming majority, 88 percent of Republicans, support Trump’s efforts to end the war.
Most Republicans are also supportive of U.S. actions against countries that continue to purchase Russian oil. Two-thirds of Republicans believe those countries should be punished with sanctions or tariffs. Likewise, 86 percent of Republicans think Europe should stop buying oil from Russia and instead purchase oil from the U.S. if it were practical.
The results continue the dramatic surge in GOP support for Ukraine that coincided with Trump becoming more critical of Russia’s approach to the war.
“What we’ve found across Appalachia is that conservatives deeply relate to Ukraine’s fight — the grit, the faith, the sense of defending your home. And they are disgusted by Putin’s killing of civilians, abduction of Ukrainian children, and targeting of Christians,” said Yurij Wowczuk, director of the Vovk Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to educate Americans about Ukraine.
Trump’s changing attitude was most apparent in a September Truth Social post where he declared his belief that Ukraine can win all of its territory back, a titanic shift in his approach to the conflict. Trump’s 180 degree turn followed a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the United Nations General Assembly.
Before that, Trump’s viewpoint was that Ukraine had to cede territory to Russia as part of a diplomatic settlement. Trump had also compared Zelensky to a dictator and argued Russia was winning the war.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have been at a standstill in recent weeks as the war rages on. Trump’s high-profile Alaska summit with Putin in August yielded a friendly tone from both leaders but resulted in little progress on peace talks.
Russia’s war in Ukraine began almost four years ago when Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and attempted to annex the country. Moscow holds roughly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory in what has become a grueling war of attrition.