WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign policy used to stand out as a not-so-bleak spot in the public's waning assessment of Barack Obama. Not anymore. He's getting low marks for handling Russia's swoop into Ukraine, and more Americans than ever disapprove of the way Obama is doing his job, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

Despite the poor performance reviews, Obama's primary tactic so far — imposing economic sanctions on key Russians — has strong backing.

Close to 9 out of 10 Americans support sanctions as a response to Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, the poll indicates. About half of that group says the U.S. sanctions so far are about right, while the other half wants to see them strengthened, the AP-GfK poll found.

Most Democrats say the sanctions were OK, while a majority of Republicans find them too weak.

"We're supposed to be a country that helps smaller countries in need," said Christopher Ashby, 29, a Republican in Albemarle, N.C., who wants a more powerful response. "Ukraine at this time is definitely in need."

Ashby, a stay-at-home dad caring for three young daughters, said, "When I look at Obama, I see my 5-year-old daughter looking at something that just happened and saying, 'What do I do?'"

Overall disapproval of the job Obama is doing ticked up to 59 percent — a record high for his presidency — in the poll released Wednesday. That's still well below the 72 percent disapproval rate that former President George W. Bush recorded in the AP-GfK poll in October 2008. Still, Obama's 41 percent approval rating is a sobering number for fellow Democrats running in this fall's House and Senate elections.

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Ukrainian soldiers transport their tanks from their base in Perevalnoe, outside Simferopol, Crimea, …

Americans are now divided over which party they would rather see in control of Congress. Democrats held a slight edge over Republicans in the January AP-GfK poll.

Obama gets lowest marks for his handling of the federal budget, immigration and the economy. Support for Obama's education policies, which had been a strong point, dipped into negative territory this month, too.

Republicans have long criticized the president as too weak in asserting American power abroad. Yet until now, foreign policy hasn't been a drag on Obama's second term: Americans were about as likely to endorse his actions as to disapprove.

Now he's hit a new low on international relations — just 40 percent approval.

Majorities say they dislike Obama's handling of the Ukraine situation (57 percent) and his interactions with Russia (54 percent).

Almost half of those polled say they support imposing tougher sanctions if Russia pushes into new regions or other countries; only 14 percent are opposed. That backs up threats from Obama and Western allies to target Russia's economy with damaging sanctions if President Vladimir Putin goes further.

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Graphic shows results of AP-GfK poll; 2c x 4 inches; 96.3 mm x 101 mm;

About a third of those surveyed said they oppose giving monetary aid to nations targeted by Russia. Only about 20 percent approve of financial support, while the biggest share is neutral. This week Congress is considering $1 billion in loan guarantees for Ukraine sought by Obama.

The idea of lending any type of military support to Ukraine is unpopular, the poll says. Obama has said there are no plans to use military force to dislodge Russia from the Crimean Peninsula.

Richard Johnson, a politically independent retiree in Redmond, Wash., said the United States shouldn't have gotten involved at all, especially since many Crimean residents favor Russia.

"They're protesting in both directions, right?" Johnson said. "So I just feel like we've got enough problems here at home, why are we looking for more trouble?"

Johnson, pausing from wiring work on his do-it-yourself kitchen remodel, said he still supports Obama nevertheless.

"He's trying to do what he believes is best," said Johnson, 62.

The AP-GfK Poll was conducted March 20-24 using KnowledgePanel, GfK's probability-based online panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It involved online interviews with 1,012 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for all respondents.

Respondents were first selected randomly using phone or mail survey methods and were later interviewed online. People selected for KnowledgePanel who didn't otherwise have access to the Internet were provided with the ability to access the Internet at no cost to them.

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AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

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Follow Connie Cass on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ConnieCass

Poll: Obama hurt by Ukraine crisis

The president gets low marks for his handling of Russia's swoop into Ukraine, an AP poll finds. Overall disapproval hits new high

Crimea's annexation threatens decades of peaceful coexistence in Vyselki, which was split after the Soviet Union's breakup.
'Anything is possible'

Commanders fired in nuke missile cheating scandal

This undated handout photo provided by the US Air Force shows Col. Robert Stanley II. The Air Force is firing nine mid-level commanders and disciplining dozens of junior officers at a nuclear missile base in response to an exam-cheating scandal that spanned a far longer period than originally reported. No Air Force general is being punished, but Stanley, the top commander at the Montana base, which is where the exam cheating was discovered in January, has resigned. (AP Photo/US Air Force)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force fired nine mid-level nuclear commanders Thursday and will discipline dozens of junior officers at a nuclear missile base in response to an exam-cheating scandal that spanned a far longer period than originally reported.

Air Force officials called the moves unprecedented in the history of the intercontinental ballistic missile force, which has been rocked by a string of security lapses over the past year, including a failed safety and security inspection last summer at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., where the cheating happened.

In a bid to correct root causes of the missile corps' failings — including low morale and weak management — the Air Force also announced a series of new or expanded programs to improve leadership development, to modernize the three ICBM bases and to reinforce "core values" including integrity.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, the service's top civilian official, had promised to hold officers at Malmstrom accountable once the cheating investigation was completed and the scope of the scandal was clear. None of the nine fired commanders was directly involved in the cheating, but each was determined to have failed in his or her leadership responsibilities.

Investigators determined that the cheating, which officials originally said happened in August or September last year, began as early as November 2011 and continued until November 2013, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to reveal details before James' announcement. It involved unauthorized passing of answers to exams designed to test missile launch officers' proficiency in handling "emergency war orders," which are messages involving the targeting and launching of missiles.

When the cheating was first revealed, Air Force leaders condemned it as violating the most basic Air Force values. They also suggested that it reflected an unhealthy pressure from commanders to achieve perfect test scores. The tests are one part of a training and evaluation system that is supposed to ensure that every one of the more than 500 missile launch officers is fully proficient.

The most senior person touched directly by the cheating scandal was the commander of Malmstrom's 341st Missile Wing, Col. Robert Stanley. He was permitted to resign, according to a defense official. The official described the Air Force actions on condition of anonymity before they were announced.

Nine key commanders below Stanley were fired, including the commanders of the 341st Wing's three missile squadrons, each of which is responsible for 50 Minuteman three nuclear missiles.

Also sacked were the commander and deputy commander of the 341st Operations Group, which oversees all three missile squadrons as well as a helicopter unit and a support squadron responsible for administering monthly proficiency tests to Malmstrom's launch crews and evaluating their performance.

Members of all three missile squadrons were implicated in the cheating, either by providing or receiving test answers or knowing about the cheating and not reporting it.

No generals are being punished. Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, who was fired last October as commander of the 20th Air Force, which is responsible for all three 150-missile wings of the ICBM force, is still on duty as a staff officer at Air Force Space Command but has requested retirement; his request is being reviewed.

Carey was fired after a military investigation determined that he had engaged in inappropriate behavior while leading a U.S. government delegation to a nuclear security exercise in Russia last summer. He was replaced by Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein.

The cheating at Malmstrom was discovered in early January during the course of an unrelated drug investigation that included two launch officers at Malmstrom and others at several other bases; the drug probe is continuing.

A total of 100 missile launch crew members at Malmstrom were identified as potentially involved in the cheating, but nine were cleared by investigators. Another nine of the 100 are being handled separately by the Air Force Office of Special Investigation; eight of those nine involve possible criminal charges stemming from the alleged mishandling of classified information.

Of the remaining 82 officers, an estimated 30 to 40 are eligible to be retrained and returned to duty on the missile force; the rest face unspecified disciplinary action that could include dismissal from the Air Force, officials said.

After the cheating was announced in January, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel launched a pair of in-depth reviews of the nuclear forces to determine why the ICBM force has suffered so many setbacks over the past year.

Hagel said he his goal was to restore public confidence in the nuclear force.

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Follow Robert Burns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Unprecedented fallout over nuke exam scandal

The Air Force is firing nine midlevel commanders and disciplining dozens of junior officers for cheating on tests.
No generals punished

The campaign currently falls about 70K signatures short but coincides with Russia's annexation of Crimea

A petition on WhiteHouse.gov seeking to give Alaska back to Russia is probably safe to file under "N" for "Never Gonna Happen."

Still, 30,000 people have lent their virtual John Hancocks to the petition. Rules dictate petitions with 100,000 or more signatures get an official response from the White House. The creator(s) of this one have until April 20 to make that happen.

And there's the timing of the petition, which coincides with Russia's annexation of Crimea, a move that wasrejected by the United Nations.

The petition's language is a bit difficult to follow, but a kind of Russian patriotism seems to shine through. Below, the text from WhiteHouse.gov:

Groups Siberian russians crossed the Isthmus (now the Bering Strait) 16-10 thousand years ago.

Russian began to settle on the Arctic coast, Aleuts inhabited the Aleutian Archipelago.

First visited Alaska August 21, 1732, members of the team boat "St. Gabriel »under the surveyor Gvozdev and assistant navigator I. Fedorov during the expedition Shestakov and DI Pavlutski 1729-1735 years

Vote for secession of Alaska from the United States and joining Russia.

Not exactly "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," but we can't all be Thomas Jefferson.

While Alaska has been part of the United States for some time, it was, long ago, part of Russia. In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward purchased the land from Russia for about $7.2 million. It didn't become a state until 1959. It also happens to be rich with natural resources, from oil to timber to gold.

This isn't the first time someone has petitioned for a state to secede from the union, Fox News explains. In 2012, a similar petition involving Texas received enough signatures for a response, which was... wait for it... no.

Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz).

Related video

Petition seeks to give U.S. state back to Russia

The formal request created on WhiteHouse.gov for Alaska to secede from the U.S. has received 30,000 signatures.
Has ties to Russia

By Natalia Zinets

KIEV (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has agreed a $14-18 billion two-year bailout for Ukraine, a deal to help it recover from months of turmoil that will also unlock further credits making a total of $27 billion.

The agreement, announced on Thursday, is intended to help the heavily-indebted ex-Soviet republic stabilize its economy after anti-government protests which resulted in the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich and a standoff with Moscow in which Russia annexed the Crimea region.

But the program of reforms that accompanies the support and which the IMF says is necessary to get economy back on track and avoid a debt default may be painful for the population and the new government at a time of crisis and uncertainty.

"The mission has reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities of Ukraine on an economic reform program," the IMF said in a statement.

"The financial support from the broader international community that the program will unlock amounts to $27 billion over the next two years. Of this, assistance from the IMF will range between $14-18 billion, with the precise amount to be determined once all bilateral and multilateral support is accounted for."

Ukraine's debt insurance costs fell sharply after the deal was announced, hitting two-month lows in the five-year credit default swap market.

The Ukrainian parliament has to sign off on the conditions in the package. It is expected to vote on it later on Thursday.

The agreement is also subject to approval by IMF Management and the Executive Board, which will consider it in April.

Ukraine desperately needs IMF bailout: ProPlay video

Conditions sought by the Fund include allowing the national currency, the hryvnia, to float more freely against the dollar, increasing the price of gas for the domestic consumer, overhauling finances in the energy sector and following a more stringent fiscal policy.

IMF mission chief Nikolay Gueorguiev outlining the proposed package said another important step was to pass a law on public procurement aimed at restraining corruption in the state sector and reducing state budget expenditure.

Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, who has dubbed his government a 'suicide' government because of the unpopular measures it will have to take to right the corruption-ridden economy after years of mismanagement, urged parliament to approve the measures outlined in the package.

"Ukraine is on the edge of economic and financial bankruptcy," he said, warning that the price Ukraine will pay for Russian gas supplies was expected to rise by nearly 80 percent from April to $480 per 1,000 cubic meters.

He said inflation in 2014 would be between 12 and 14 percent and unless laws were passed to support the austerity measures proposed by the IMF to stabilize the economy, GDP could fall 10 percent during the year and Ukraine could default.

STAVING OFF BANKRUPTCY

The previous, ousted government said the country of 46 million needed around $35 billion over two years to stave off bankruptcy.

It faces about $10 billion in repayments on its foreign currency debt this year, excluding the several billion dollars it will require for gas imports from Russia. In June, it will have to pay out on a $1 billion eurobond that matures.

In a move on Wednesday, seen as a gesture by Kiev to secure the IMF package, the government said it had agreed to raise the price of gas to the domestic consumer - a long-standing demand by the Fund - by more than 50 per cent from May 1.

This was an unpopular condition for IMF aid that Yanukovich had refused before he was ousted last month.

"Following the intense economic and political turbulence of recent months, Ukraine has achieved some stability, but faces difficult challenges," the IMF statement said.

Announcing the agreement in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, Gueorguiev declined to say how big the initial tranche of aid would be.

Kiev has said it desperately needs cash to cover expenses and avert a possible debt default. The country's finance minister has predicted the economy will contract 3 percent this year.

The bailout from the IMF will clear the way for several billion dollars in aid from the United States, European Union, Japan and other nations.

(Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Alessandra Prentice; Writing by Richard Balmforth; editing by Anna Willard) nL5N0MO1O9

The International Monetary Fund pledges a two-year package for Kiev to help it recover from months of political turmoil.
Worth $27B