The world’s eyes are glued on Israel and Gaza at the moment, but it’s worth remembering that we still have that “other” (proxy) war going on in Ukraine and it is quickly becoming a hot topic for next year’s elections. The latest numbers from Gallup have been released, and there isn’t much good news for Joe Biden and the Democrats here, nor for the “Biden Republicans” in the Senate who are sticking with Joe’s “for as long as it takes” rhetoric. The trends we saw developing over the spring and summer have continued and the shifts were not exactly subtle. Gallup dove into all of the major questions regarding the conflict, starting with the overall issue of whether the United States is “doing too much” to help Ukraine, doing “too little, or doing “the right amount.” In August of 2022, just 29% said we were doing too much. Today that number stands at 41%. Only one in four voters believe we need to be doing even more.

As the harsh winter months approach in Ukraine, Americans’ views on the war there have shifted, with a plurality now saying the U.S. is doing too much to help Ukraine. Forty-one percent of Americans overall say the U.S. is doing too much, which has risen from 24% in August 2022 and 29% in June 2023. Thirty-three percent, down from 43% in June, say the U.S. is doing the right amount, while 25% believe the U.S. isn’t doing enough.

Both Republicans (62%) and independents (44%) increasingly see the U.S. as doing too much to support Ukraine compared with when Gallup began asking this question in August 2022.

It’s primarily Republicans who are saying that America is doing too much, but the independents are catching up quickly. More Democrats remain stubbornly in the “do more” camp, but even those figures are beginning to shrink.

Speaking of “as long as it takes,” a surprising majority of voters still support sticking with Ukraine even if the war drags on. But the gap is closing. The percentage who say that we should keep backing Kyiv until Ukraine has “regained all of its territory” is down to 54 percent, while 43 percent would like to see the war “end quickly.” In terms of paying for all of this, Biden is already well underwater. 61% say there should be a “limit on financial support” from the United States. Just 37% say aid should continue “as long as Ukraine requests it.”

The real kicker comes at the end of the survey. Gallup posed the simple question of who is currently winning the war. A very solid majority of 64 percent now say that “neither side” is winning the war. That’s a significant increase from the beginning of the summer when we were assured that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was about to begin and they would be kicking Russians out of the country right and left. That counteroffensive never panned out and few serious analysts see an end to this where Ukraine gets all of its old territory back any time soon, if ever.

We’re anticipating a vote in Congress for another aid package for Ukraine in the near future, whether it’s lashed to aid for Israel or not. (Personally, I definitely don’t want it to be.) Will these numbers sink in among the partisans currently slugging it out in Washington? Support for aid to Israel is massive, but the desire to see even more pallets of untraceable money going to Zelensky and his pals is cratering. The House GOP seems to have gotten the message, but Mitch McConnell and the Senate GOP appear to be painfully slow on the uptake. Perhaps some of them need to be reminded that they could still face a primary next year if they’re not careful.