Sending Weapons To Ukraine: Americans Are Divided

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has confirmed that a ceasefire agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine has been reached after a marathon 15 hour meeting in Minsk. Heavy weapons will be withdrawn from the front lines at midnight and all prisoners will be released with the ceasefire coming into force on February 15th.

Earlier this week, President Obama said that his administration would consider supplying "lethal defensive weapons" like anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian military. However, a poll from YouGov has shown that the American public is divided when it comes to possible arms shipments. 32 percent of respondents support sending weapons to Ukraine while 37 percent are against any such move.

There is a considerable partisan divide on the issue - 53 percent of Republicans support weapons shipments to the Ukrainian military while 27 percent of Democrats are against any such move. Most Americans support greater economic sanctions against Russia as well as greater diplomatic efforts. If the ceasefire fails to hold and the situation deteriorates considerably, 61 percent of respondents would be against US troops deploying to Ukraine.