Trump said he’d end the Russia-Ukraine war in one day. 80 days later Americans want more help for Ukrainians

Donald Trump claimed on the campaign during his 2024 run for the White House that he could get a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine settled within “24 hours” when he became president again. Nearly three months into his second non-consecutive term the conflict rages on despite officials from his administration meeting with Russian counterparts.

While many Americans have wondered why the US should get involved in the conflict, initially there was a plurality of those who wanted to see more done to help the embattled Ukrainians fend off Russian aggression. However, that sentiment reversed under criticism from some Republican leaders according to Gallup survey data. But since Trump has returned to the White House, and his contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, opinion has once again swung and now 46% of the US population says the US is not doing enough to help.

Who supports US doing more to help Ukraine?

The Gallup survey shows that the biggest driver of the change in sentiment comes from Democratic voters. While those who think the US is doing too much dipped slightly to 8%, there was a 31-point spike to 79% of those that believe more must be done to aid Ukraine.

But that same feeling also increased by 14 points among Independents rising to 46% who say the US is not doing enough compared to 29% who say the US is doing too much. Among Republican respondents, the sentiment that the US was doing too much dropped by 11 points from 67% to 56% while the feeling that the US wasn’t doing enough held steady at 12% from data collected in December 2024.

As far as concerns about a ceasefire, the vast majority of each American partisan group say that they are somewhat to very concerned that Russia would violate the terms of any agreement reached. Seven in ten respondents felt that the terms of any such agreement would be too favorable to Russia. The opposite was true with people’s opinions on both issues with regards to Ukraine.

How did the conflict between Russia and Ukraine begin?

Ukraine has always been concerned about Russian aggression. After independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union, leaders in the nation worked with those in Russia to turn over what was then the third largest nuclear weapons stockpile in the world.

When negotiations appeared to break down, the US stepped in to engage in a trilateral process that resulted in Ukraine agreeing to transfer its nuclear warheads to Russia for elimination in return for security assurances from the US, Russia and Britain for its sovereignty and territorial integrity among other terms.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-fledged attempts to subjugate Ukraine have been going on for over three years now. However, the conflict technically started in 2014 when bands of armed gunmen, called ‘little green men’, began seizing government buildings in Crimea before Russia annexed the territory. They were also active in the War in Donbas in the east of Ukraine.

Beginning on 24 February 2022, Russian troops amassed along the border launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, attempting to capture the nation in a matter of days. After initially advancing deep into the Ukrainian territory, defending forces thwarted further gains and eventually drove the aggressors out of many of the areas they had occupied.

Still, Russian currently holds about 20% of Ukraine, primarily stretching from the Dnipro River in the south to the east in regions bordering Russia where most of the heavy fighting is taking place these days. The conflict has resulted in much bloodshed on both sides.

Ukraine says that it is willing to agree to an immediate ceasefire, but wants security guarantees from the United States. The nation is even offering to sign over mineral rights as long as any agreement doesn’t interfere with its ability to join the European Union.

Meanwhile, Trump has said that Russia is “dragging its feet” while being critical of both parties saying they need to do more. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he thinks “Ukraine-Russia might be going OK, and you’re going to be finding out pretty soon,” but then adding: “There’s a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up and we’ll see what happens, but I think it’s going fine.”

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