While some Western European leaders are contemplating the idea of dispatching thousands of soldiers to the country if the hostilities were to end, they have to “contend… with the inconvenient fact that many voters are opposed to any deployment that places troops in harm’s way,” the report says.

Unnamed European officials also told the WSJ that “it is difficult to secure public support without a clear US commitment to backstop any deployment.” US President Donald Trump has ruled out sending ground troops to Ukraine, but said Washington could provide other kinds of support.

Eastern European countries are generally cautious about shifting forces from their own borders, the WSJ noted, adding that opposition to troop deployment is particularly strong in Germany and Italy, where the historical memory of World War II still shapes public opinion.

In Germany, domestic opposition runs deep, spanning both right and left-wing parties; a recent Insa poll suggested that 56% there are opposed to sending troops to Ukraine.

France, one of the more vocal supporters of a potential European military force, has seen public opinion hinge on conditions. A March survey by Elabe found 67% supported sending troops if a peace accord is reached, but 68% opposed a deployment without one.

Meanwhile, the British public generally supports possible deployment, but several polls have indicated that it “wouldn’t want to provoke a direct confrontation with Russia,” the report says. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also stressed the need for a US security backstop if UK forces were deployed – something Washington has not committed to.

Russia has consistently opposed the idea of NATO countries sending in troops. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated the prospect of the bloc shifting its military infrastructure into Ukraine was “one of the root causes” of the conflict and has reiterated that Moscow views current discussions about deployments negatively.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey, released Wednesday, found that 62 percent of U.S. adult respondents were in favor of the Donald Trump administration slapping sanctions on Moscow’s trading partners, including India and China.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) spearheaded a massive sanctions bill in the upper chamber that, if adopted, would impose 500 percent secondary tariffs on Russia’s trading partners.

“We propose in our bill 500 percent. If it’s 250 percent, I could live with it. Even if it’s 100 percent, possibly,” Blumenthal said earlier this month, adding, “But you ought to impose bone-crushing sanctions that will stop them from fueling Russia’s war machine.”

On Wednesday, President Trump’s steep tariffs against India, now totaling 50 percent, went into effect. The administration stated it would impose additional import taxes on India’s purchases of Russian oil, arguing that New Delhi is helping to fuel the Kremlin’s continued military operations in Ukraine.

Trump met separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month to nudge the leaders closer to a ceasefire deal. The administration is also working to get the leaders to meet face-to-face.

In the poll, the large majority of MAGA-aligned Republicans, 76 percent, said they support imposing sanctions against Russian trading partners to help stop the more than three year war in eastern Europe. The majority of Democratic Party voters, 58 percent, were also for slapping sanctions on Moscow’s trading partners, according to the survey.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted Aug. 22-24 among 1,022 U.S. adults. The margin of error for the full sample is 3 percentage points.