US-Russia ties have gone from an unusual mixture of cooperation and rivalry to almost exclusively adversarial since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. The Obama administration has put the brakes on Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, placed sanctions on key economic sectors and ramped up military training with European allies. The White House has also sought to defuse tensions by emphasizing a shared interest in nuclear nonproliferation, counterterrorism and regional stability.

But in the eyes of most Americans, Moscow is still the United States’ enemy. In fact, more Americans today see Russia as an enemy than at any time since the Center began polling on this question in 2008. Republicans and Democrats are both equally likely to view Russia this way, as are those with college degrees and those ages 65 or older.

The reason is clear: Most experts agree that America’s globe-spanning force would clobber Russia’s in a toe-to-toe conventional fight, but modern wars are often more complex and less predictable than their Cold War counterparts. Amid the ebb and flow of conflict, politics, terrain, geography and other factors inevitably give one side an advantage.

In addition, the Kremlin’s use of “hybrid warfare” casts doubt on when a military response is appropriate. As a result, many NATO nations are struggling to work out their own red lines on Putin’s behavior.