BY
March 8, 2022
-Newsweek
The majority of Americans said they would stay and fight if Russia were to invade the United States the way it did Ukraine, according to a recent poll.
The poll, conducted by Quinnipiac University, surveyed 1,374 U.S. adults across the country. Out of those 1,374 participants, 55 percent said they would stay and fight, while 38 percent said they would flee the country, like the over 1.5 million people who have fled Ukraine as Russia continues its attack on Ukrainian cities and villages.
The university’s polls show that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is at the forefront of many Americans’ minds, with half of those polled comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s actions to Adolph Hitler’s actions in Austria and Czechoslovakia before World War II.
Many Ukrainian civilians have joined the fight against Russian forces. Citizens have set up roadblocks, a brewery has assisted with making explosive Molotov cocktails, volunteers have created tank traps and more. Newsweek previously reported that some individuals, like 22-year-old business student Maryna Mazur, have even returned to Ukraine from abroad to join the fight.
Of the Americans who said they would join the fight if the U.S. faced the same situation, most were men in older age groups.
While 45 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 34 said they would stay and fight, that number increased to 57 percent for those in the 35-49 age range and to 66 percent in the 50-64 age range. Also, 40 percent of women said they would fight, compared to 70 percent of men.
Looking at political affiliation, Republicans were more likely to say they would stay and fight, with 68 percent saying they would do so, as opposed to 40 percent of Democrats.
When polled on whether they felt anxious about the war, Americans were split almost evenly, with 49 percent saying they were anxious and 50 percent saying they were not. Democrats were more likely to say the war was a source of anxiety than Republicans, the poll added.
The response was less divided when participants were asked about the possibility of Russia invading a NATO ally. Nearly 80 percent were in favor of the U.S. launching a military response should Russia attack a NATO country, as one of the principles of the treaty organization is that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all.
Another 60 percent said they believed Putin would be willing to use nuclear weapons against a NATO country.
Many world leaders are trying to support Ukraine without starting a war with Russia, with many like the U.S. opting to help by sending humanitarian aid and sanctioning Russia. Another poll by the university showed that 71 percent of Americans would back a U.S. ban on Russian oil despite rising prices, Newsweek previously reported.
“Americans are ready to put a chokehold on Russia’s key financial lifeblood, oil, no matter what the consequences are at the pump,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a report on the polls’ findings.
