Those polled German nationals who are not concerned over the possible escalation amounted to 38% and 12% were undecided, the survey found. As many as 44% of those sampled positively viewed the deployment, while 42% negatively assessed the move and 14% abstained, the poll showed.
At the same time, only 26% of German nationals residing in East Germany, the former German Democratic Republic, supported the government's plans, while 60% expressed opposition, the poll said. A half of those residing in western Germany were in favor of the US missile deployment, and 36% were against the move, the survey added.
The Pentagon said in July that the US would begin episodic deployments of long-range weapons in Germany as part of planning for ensuring the stationing of these weapons in the future by 2026. This includes the SM-6, Tomahawk and developmental hypersonic missiles.
On July 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if US military weapons were deployed in Germany, Russia would deem itself free from the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and shorter-range strike weapons.