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Whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin breaks Ukraine or not, he has certainly caused fissures in the Republican Party in the US. The establishment wing of the GOP on Friday joined Democrats in condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leaving party supremo Donald Trump isolated in his praise of Putin. In remarks on radio and to party donors this week, Trump called Putin "smart" "savvy" and a "genius" for his invasion of Ukraine, although some of the comments appeared sarcastic and aimed at disparaging the Biden leadership.

Foreign policy traditionalists in the GOP however unloaded on Putin, calling him a bully who should be punished. Asked at a news conference about Trump’s praise for Putin, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who controls the party's legislative agenda, appeared to reject the former President's; characterisation, calling Putin a “bad guy” who needs to be stopped.

Amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for an “immediate cessation of violence” in his phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue.

He expressed his “long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue”, the PMO said.

This was a fine balancing act as it called for “immediate cessation of violence” – something the Western bloc would appreciate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “military operation” in Ukraine on Thursday and called on soldiers there to lay down their arms, defying Western outrage and global appeals not to launch a war. Putin made a surprise statement on television to declare his intentions. “I have made the decision of a military operation,” he said shortly before 6:00 am (0300 GMT) in Moscow, as he vowed retaliation against anyone who interfered. He also called on the Ukraine military to lay down its arms.

War in Ukraine Updates: Biden Announces Sanctions, Export Controls Against Russia, Says Invasion of Ukraine A 'Premeditated Attack. Minutes after Putin’s announcement, explosions were heard in several key Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Russia launched a wide-scale, pre-dawn military assault against Ukraine on Thursday. Russia's President Vladimir Putin's war on what was a constituent of the Russia-led Soviet Union before its collapse in 1991 is his pushback against the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) that's expanded rapidly in his neighbourhood in East Europe.

Announcing "military operations to demilitarise" his neighbour, Putin warned in a televised address that those "interfering" would face never-before consequences. Expectedly, Western powers, including the US and the UK, warned that the world would hold Russia accountable. While some allies have backed Russia, others have adopted a more cautious approach.

In a booster shot for the country’s depleting air combat capabilities, India has received the first lot of Rafale fighters with India-specific enhancements to make them deadlier, even as indigenous Tejas jets are being deployed for a multi-nation exercise abroad for the first time.

Three Rafale jets touched down in India on Tuesday evening, taking the total number of the 4.5-generation fighters delivered to 35 now under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked with France in September 2016.

The three Rafales have come with hardware tweaks for the 13 India-specific enhancements (ISEs), which include the capability to fire top-notch Meteor air-to-air missiles, while the software upgrade will take place here.