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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.