Two Republican Senators have given strikingly different diagnoses of where the US stands in relation to events in Ukraine. Speaking to a reporter at CPAC, Missouri’s Josh Hawley said not just that the US shouldn’t send forces to fight in Ukraine (there is nothing to suggest it will), but that it should in fact be pulling troops out of Europe in order to focus on China’s threat in East Asia.

Contrast that view with the below from Florida’s Marco Rubio, who argues against the idea that Vladimir Putin could have been placated out of invading Ukraine with the offer of security guarantees from Nato – and insists that the conflict’s implications should not be underestimated.

Michael Flynn, the retired general and extreme conspiracy theorist who was a central figure in the long-running scandal over Donald Trump’s Russian connections, has put out a statement conveying his views on Ukraine.

In it, he condemns the invasion, but frames it basically as a failure of diplomacy on the part of the Biden administration – that is, a failure to address Vladimir Putin’s “legitimate security concerns” and “legitimate ethnic problems” in Ukraine itself.

Read the statement below:

Few Republican politicians criticised President Joe Biden as Russia invaded Ukraine, breaking with former president Donald Trump, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy squarely placed the blame for the invasion on Mr Putin’s shoulders and did not even mention the Democratic president.

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After Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin “savvy” and a “genius” for invading Ukraine, the former Democratic president Barack Obama praised Joe Biden for his response to Russia.

Mr Obama accused Russia of launching “a brazen attack on the people of Ukraine, in violation of international law and basic principles of human decency”.

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Two prosecutors leading the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into the former president and his business practices resigned on Wednesday.

The prosecutors, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz submitted their resignations after new Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, indicated that he had doubts about moving forward with a case against Mr Trump.

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According to the latest study of its followers, the QAnon conspiracy movement has continued to thrive in the US more than a year after Donald Trump left the White House.

The Public Religion Research Institute’s latest study has revealed that about 22 per cent of Americans believe that a “storm” is coming, “18 per cent think violence might be necessary to save the country and 16 per cent hold that the government, media and financial worlds are controlled by Satan-worshipping paedophiles.”

The study states that “the share of QAnon believers has increased slightly through 2021.”

It added that in March, 14 per cent of Americans were QAnon believers, compared to 16 per cent in July, 17 per cent in September, and 17 per cent in October.”

The PRRI study also revealed that the “share of QAnon doubters has remained relatively steady.”

Bernie Sanders called Donald Trump’s praise of the Russian president “outrageous” but said that it was “unsurprising.”

The Vermont senator said: “It is outrageous, if unsurprising, that Trump would praise Putin’s murderous invasion of Ukraine as an act of ‘genius.’” He added that “it should concern us all that Putin is exactly the kind of leader Trump would like to be, and that so few Republicans have the courage to say this out loud.”

During the interview, the former president had called Mr “savvy” and “genius” for invading Ukraine. He said: “I said, ‘How smart is that? He’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper,’” Mr Trump said.

“That’s the strongest peace force. We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re going to keep peace, all right.”

Former US President Donald Trump appeared to be under the impression that the US had invaded Ukraine during an exchange with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

Bashing President Joe Biden for his handling of the crisis, Mr Trump and Ms Ingraham discussed the invasion, with Ms Ingraham repeating a report about an amphibious landing in Odessa, which Mr Trump appeared to think was a reference to US troops.

Harriet Sinclair reports.

Jon Stewart has branded Donald Trump’s reaction to Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine “f****** bonkers”.

Stewart directed the same criticism toward Fox News, tweeting on Wednesday, 23 February: “The Trump/Fox axis isn’t soft-pedaling Putin’s actions… they agree with them. They are political allies. They believe in the same things. To them, the American Left and most of Europe are the Evil Empire.”

In a follow-up tweet, Stewart added: “It is f****** bonkers.”

Clémence Michallon reports.

Bernie Sanders has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “an act of premeditated aggression” and called for a global response to defend the country from attack.

“This aggression is unacceptable and the nations of the world must respond vigorously to defend democracy and the rule of law,” Mr Sanders said in a video message on Thursday.

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