The vast majority of Americans support military assistance to Ukraine to defend itself against full-scale Russian aggression, viewing it as a demonstration of the United States' willingness to protect their own and allied interests from China and other adversaries.

According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, it has concluded a "sharp rise" in backing for arming Ukraine, with 65% of the respondents approving of the shipments compared with 46% in a May poll.

Specifically, 81% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans and 57% of independents favour supplying US weapons to Ukraine.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey also found that 76% of Americans believe that providing aid to Ukraine demonstrates to China and other rivals that the United States has "the will and capability to protect our interests, our allies and ourselves."

Furthermore, large majorities of Americans – 67% and 73% – are more likely to support a candidate in next year's US presidential election who will continue military aid to Ukraine and one who backs the NATO alliance.

As Reuters notes, the survey conducted just days after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the private Wagner mercenary company, launched and then called off a mutiny over what he charged was the Russian defence ministry's mishandling of the war in Ukraine.

The online Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted nationwide, collecting responses from 1,004 adults, including 400 Democrats and 383 Republicans. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4$ points in either direction.

As a reminder, the United States recently announced another package of military assistance to Ukraine worth $500 million, including armoured vehicles and additional ammunition for Patriot and HIMARS systems. The total volume of military aid since February 2022 has exceeded $40.5 billion.