War in Ukraine: Australia’s response

Three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war is deadlocked. But since taking office in January, Donald Trump has transformed the US position on the conflict. In February, prior to fieldwork for this Poll, Trump publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, paused American intelligence sharing with Ukraine in February and early March, and voted with Russia and against Europe on UN resolutions on the conflict.

In the wake of President Trump’s actions and comments, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders have taken a more prominent role in coordinating military and diplomatic support for Ukraine, convening a ‘coalition of the willing’ of liberal democracies. Australian Prime Minister Albanese participated in these talks, and foreshadowed he was ‘open to considering any requests to contribute to a future peacekeeping effort’ in Ukraine.^*

In this context, Australian public support for assisting Ukraine remains high. The vast majority of Australians (84%) continue to support ‘keeping strict sanctions on Russia’, only five points below 2022. More than three-quarters (77%) support ‘admitting Ukrainian refugees into Australia’, roughly steady on last year. Almost three-quarters (73%) support ‘providing military aid to Ukraine’, also steady on last year.

In answer to a new question polled separately in April, a clear majority of Australians (71%) say they support ‘Australia participating in a European-led peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, after a ceasefire has been agreed’. This includes 30% of Australians who would ‘strongly support’ doing so.