As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its second month, American public perception about the conflict as reflected in a major nationwide opinion poll conducted by the University of Maryland between 16-28 March has thrown up some interesting findings.

The big takeaway from the university’s Critical Issues Poll is that an overwhelming majority of Americans are following the conflict with a great deal of attention ~ 40 per cent of respondents said they are following the Ukraine crisis “very closely,” and another 45 per cent say they are following it “somewhat closely”.

For a people known to be relatively disinterested in “foreign wars”, especially those with no American boots on the ground, this is an unprecedentedly high figure. A plausible explanation for these high levels of engagement with the issue could be the inter-generational US public consciousness post1945, of Russia (interchangeable with the former Soviet Union) as an unfriendly, “godless, communist power”.

This is an assumption seemingly borne out by a breakdown of the polling numbers by analyst Shibley Telhami: Over one-third of respondents identified Russia unequivocally as an “enemy” state. This finding would also indicate that facile assumptions about the general American public not being engaged with the government’s foreign policy with regard to Moscow’s aggression are misplaced.

The US Administration’s current approach of imposing increasingly tougher sanctions on Russia and supplying arms to Ukraine but not committing to American troop deployment, too, continues to receive massive support. Interestingly, the poll shows that perhaps for the first time since hostilities broke out, a majority of the American population would support a no-fly zone over Ukraine if the Russian invasion persists.

This is arguably the most important finding of the nationwide poll and one which the Kremlin would do well to take serious note of ~ 56 per cent of respondents said they supported enforcing a no-fly zone, including 52 per cent of Republicans and 61 per cent of Democrats, indicating a bipartisan majority holds this view. President Joe Biden’s handling of the Ukraine crisis is, predictably, viewed along party lines with 69 per cent of Democrats approving of Washington’s reaction compared to only 31 per cent of Republicans.

A majority of Americans (51 per cent), however, said the USA had acted “appropriately” to the Russian invasion of Ukraine ~ good news for the Biden Administration which had seen its popularity plummeting before the war. Those across global capitals who believe that America will not have the staying power for a long-drawn out battle of attrition may also be barking up the wrong tree.

The poll indicates that close to 75 per cent of Americans including majorities of both Democratic and Republican voters are prepared to pay a price in energy costs and inflation for supporting Ukraine. It is for Moscow, the countries supporting Russia, and the neutrals, as it were, to factor in US public opinion on the Ukraine war as they plan their next steps.