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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
According to a poll conducted by CNN, most Americans oppose Congress approving more funds to help Ukraine in its war against Russia. This is another blow to US President Joe Biden, who is losing popularity in the polls in the lead-up to next year’s election, mainly because of his bangled Ukraine policy.
Based on the study carried out by the outlet and the SSRS polling house, 55% of the US citizens surveyed indicated that legislators should not authorise additional funds to support Kiev, compared to 45% who see the financing as good. Likewise, 51% asserted that the US “has already done enough” to help Kiev, while 48% indicated that Washington should do more in favour of Ukraine.
This latest figure contrasts with the data collected during the first days after the Russian military operation, when 62% indicated that the US should take more part in the conflict. Of the people who indicated that Washington should do more for Kiev, 75% stated that it should collaborate with intelligence tasks.
In comparison, 68% opted for military training and 60% for weapons. Meanwhile, among those who say the US has done enough, only intelligence gathering garners majority support (52%).
The poll also finds broad partisan divisions, with Republicans saying broadly that Congress should not authorise new funding (71%) and that the US has done enough to help Ukraine (59%); among Democrats, the majority says the opposite, 62% are in favour of additional funding, and 61% say the US should do more.
It must also be considered that 55% of Americans responding against providing further aid to Ukraine is significant. The media propagates in favour of Ukraine and keeps hidden news that would turn even more Americans against the war. Take, for example, the recent claims made by former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter that up to two-thirds of the financial aid that the US sends to Ukraine is embezzled by corrupt local officials.
Ritter says most US financial assistance is delivered in cash rather than through banks. As a result, up to two-thirds of the money destined for Ukraine goes into officials’ pockets. He insists that Washington knows the truth but is afraid to reveal it because American citizens will not tolerate it.
CNN’s findings correspond with a recent survey conducted by Gallup, which found that support for the US’ continued involvement in Ukraine is waning. Independents are more likely now (43%) to prefer ending the war quickly compared to last year (34%). The opposition Republicans are more likely now (50%) than when the war began (43%) to say Washington is doing too much to support Ukraine, meaning that the war in Ukraine will inevitably be a major contention point in the 2024 US presidential election.
To date, the US has provided Ukraine with $113 billion, vastly surpassing what European countries have spent on the war effort. With Biden’s numbers dwindling and his average national approval rating sitting at a paltry 34%, questions are emerging on whether the Biden Administration can change its Ukraine policy.
It is unlikely that Biden will allow a change in Ukraine policy since he has a personal vested interest in the country.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, quickly reacted to the CNN survey on social media platform X and said that Biden is “repaying his family’s Burisma bribe.”
“The absolute worst ideas in Washington D.C. are bipartisan. Shame on the [the Republicans] for going along with Biden repaying his family’s Burisma bribe by unthinkingly pouring $$ into Ukraine, which fails to advance U.S. interests while driving Russia into China’s hands & raising the risk of nuclear war. Now the public is finally coming to its senses. In March, pollsters told me I was on the ‘wrong side’ of this with voters, but the tides are shifting: TRUTH wins in the end,” he posted.
It is recalled that an FBI informant file was uncovered in July and described a $10 million bribery allegation against Biden and his son Hunter. According to the redacted FD-1023 form, Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of natural gas company Burisma Holdings, told an FBI informant in 2016 while meeting at a coffee shop in Austria that “it cost 5 [million] to pay one Biden and 5 [million] to another Biden”.
“Zlochevsky made some comment that although Hunter Biden ‘was stupid, and his (Zlochevsky’s) dog was smarter,’ Zlochevsky needed to keep Hunter Biden (on Burisma’s board) ‘so everything will be okay,’” the June 2020 document says.
According to the New York Post, the source asked whether Hunter Biden or Joe Biden told Zlochevsky if he should “retain” the younger Biden; Zlochevsky allegedly replied, “They both did.”
This scandal is just one of many involving Ukraine and Biden, which range from his aforementioned personal financial interests to American taxpayer money ending up in the hands of corrupt Ukrainian officials. However, this was just one of the very few scandals that managed to reach mainstream audiences in the US, suggesting that Biden’s popularity and support for the war in Ukraine would be even lower if the whole truth were revealed.
i dont want my tax dollars to be sent to neonazis and corrupted besterds in kiev
the war will end with biden if they don’t fill him full of embalming fluid and rig his corpse into power in the next election.