70 percent of voters want more punitive measures against Russia: poll

The vast majority of voters want more punitive measures imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey.

Seventy percent of voters overall said harsher punishments should be imposed, while 76 percent said the U.S. and NATO should send missile defense systems to Ukraine and 71 percent said they should send Kyiv military aircraft.

Fifty-seven percent also said the U.S. and NATO should impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine to try to halt Russia’s air assault.

The poll comes as Washington scrambles to send Ukraine sufficient aid while avoiding a direct war with Russia.

The U.S. has been sending Stingers to Ukraine to help shoot down Russian aircraft and larger weapons systems are reportedly under consideration to be sent to Kyiv. However, proposals to send fighter jets from NATO countries have been mired over whether it would be viewed by Russian President Vladimir Putin as an escalation. 

A no-fly zone has largely been written off by both Democrats and Republicans who warn that such a move would involve shooting down Russian jets, which could lead to a full-on war with Moscow.

Fifty-three percent of voters said they oppose the U.S. and NATO sending troops to Ukraine, while 47 percent said they support such a deployment. 

Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine is entering its second month, with fierce fighting continuing between Russian and Ukrainian forces and Moscow also directing a fearsome rocket, artillery and missile campaign on civilian centers.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey of 1,990 registered voters was conducted from March 23-24. It is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll. 

The survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. As a representative online sample, it does not report a probability confidence interval.