While a majority of Europeans are supportive of sending weapons to Ukraine, a number of countries are more opposed to the idea.
Greece recorded the highest level of public opposition to sending weapons to Ukraine, with 48 percent of those surveyed fully disapproving, followed by Cyprus with 46 percent.
Slovakia, Bulgaria, Austria, and Hungary also reported high levels of disapproval. The majority of the German public (58 percent) support arming Ukraine, despite the fact that this policy causes much unease among them.
More people in the European Union support giving shelter to Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion than sending weapons, according to a poll published by the European Commission and cited by German news agency dpa on Monday.
Some 88 percent of EU citizens support sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine and 82 percent of the bloc’s public “welcome those fleeing the war,” the commission’s release said. Arming Ukraine garnered less support, but 59 percent of EU citizens still backed sending weapons.
“Buying and supplying military equipment to Ukraine” was fully supported by 26 percent of respondents, while 33 percent ‘tended to approve.'”
Public support for EU sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion has also been strong. Some 71 percent of the public supported the punitive measures, with 42 percent fully approving and 29 percent tending to approve.
A majority (63 percent) of those polled in the EU also support banning Russian state-owned media. Finland supported this the most at 66 percent, while in Greece, 45 percent of the public disapprove of the measure. The poll also showed that support for EU efforts to stop importing fossil fuels from Russia has 82 percent of support.
Rising energy prices have affected 85 percent of respondents, the poll added. Some 56 percent held Russia responsible for the price increase. The poll was conducted online among a sample of 26,337 people in the 27 EU member states between Nov. 23 and Nov. 30, 2022.
