Americans Have Little Appetite For Intervention In Ukraine: Poll

A majority of Americans support the Obama administration's current approach of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a new poll conducted in the U.S., Canada and Great-Britain found.

The three country poll conducted by Angus Reid Global found little disparity among the nations, with the majority of those surveyed in support of economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia but showing little desire to involve their countries militarily in the conflict.

According to the poll, Brits were least in favor of intervention, while Canadians were most. Among Americans, only 14 percent of respondents voiced support for a NATO-led military intervention, while nearly a quarter of respondents said the U.S. country should stay out of the conflict altogether.

The survey also shows that Americans tend to evaluate their government's response to the crisis more according to political lines than respondents in other countries did.

In the case of past Obama voters, 28 percent say his administration has been too soft in its response, while 66 percent say the response has been just right. For those who cast a ballot for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012, 59 percent believe the White House reaction to the crisis in Ukraine has been too soft, while 34 percent say it has been just right.

Past Republican voters are also most polarized among themselves on what to do about the situation. While they are twice as supportive of NATO-led military action as past Democrat voters (19% to 10%), past Republicans are also slightly more inclined to stay out of the conflict than past Democrats (23% to 20%).

Another finding of the poll was that Americans considered the crisis in Ukraine a bigger threat than Canadians and Brits. While more than half of Americans surveyed said they viewed the situation as either a very serious or serious threat to global peace and security, only 44 percent of British respondents and 47 percent of Canadians voiced the same concerns.

The poll was conducted by Angus Reid Global and surveyed 1504 American, 2002 British and 1505 Canadian adults on April 29 - 30, 2014.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's interior ministry announced that at least 30 pro-Russia militants as well as four troops were killed during heavy clashes around the city of Slaviansk. It remained unclear when exactly the deaths occurred, but on Monday heavy fighting had broken out at a key checkpoint near the city.

Kiev also sent troops to Odessa, the city where more than 40 protesters died on Friday after heavy clashes between pro-Russia and pro-Ukraine protesters. The Associated Press reports that an elite national guard force could be seen patrolling the streets of Odessa on Monday.