Few Americans want US involved in Ukraine crisis: Poll

A new poll in the United States shows that few Americans want their country to get involved in the worsening crisis in Ukraine.

The online poll, conducted jointly by the Huffington Post and YouGov and released on Monday, shows that only 18 percent of Americans agree that the US must protect Ukraine against a possible invasion by Russia.

However, 46 percent of the people polled in the US believe that Washington has no responsibility to protect Ukraine. Another 36 percent said they were not sure.

Among US lawmakers, a large number of Democrats, Republicans and independents shared the same view that the White House has no responsibility to protect Kiev.

Meanwhile, a US official travelling with US Secretary of State John Kerry to Ukraine said on Tuesday that Washington is expected to take steps on sanctions against Russia later this week.

“I think there will be movement on sanctions very likely later in this week and there is a whole spectrum of sanctions,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Sunday, Kerry said Russia could be removed from the Group of Eight (G8) developed nations over its deployment of troops in the restive Ukrainian region, warning that Moscow will suffer a loss of trade and investment if it does not retreat.

The top US official warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that “he is not going to have a Sochi G8, he may not even remain in the G8 if this continues,” referring to a planned G8 summit in Russia in June.

Putin “may find himself with asset freezes, on Russian business. American business may pull back, there may be a further tumble of the ruble,” he added.

On Monday, Washington made preparations to impose sanctions on high-ranking Russian officials involved in Moscow’s build-up of its forces in Ukraine’s autonomous Crimea region.

The US has suspended military ties with Russia, including joint maneuvers, port visits and planning meetings.

US officials also say that if Moscow does not stop deploying forces in Crimea, Washington would not only ban visas and freeze assets of certain Russian officials but also target state-owned financial institutions.