The Ukraine war file appears to be witnessing positive developments, following reports of a US offer to Russia to help find a resolution to the conflict — an offer that has been met with a welcome from Moscow, on condition that Russia's fundamental approach to the conflict is taken into account.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said early on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump offered, during a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that lasted approximately 90 minutes, to help find a solution to the war in Ukraine.
Ushakov added that Trump made the offer in the context of his participation this week in the NATO summit in Turkey. He quoted Trump as saying that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would continue their mediation efforts toward reaching a settlement.
Both are prepared to make another visit to Moscow. He said: "The US president reaffirmed his readiness to work toward ending the fighting quickly and finding solutions to overcome the crisis."
Ushakov described the conversation between Putin and Trump as highly practical and constructive, adding that Moscow is seeking a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict, while taking Russia's fundamental approach into account.
Ushakov accused Kyiv and its European allies of relying on prolonging the conflict and even escalating it. He said Putin described the real situation on the battlefield, where Russian armed forces are advancing with confidence and taking control of one area after another.
Ushakov quoted Trump as saying that Witkoff and Kushner would continue their attempts to mediate a settlement and are prepared to make another visit to Moscow.
Ushakov said Putin expressed during the call his hope that US diplomatic efforts in the conflict with Iran would lead to long-term solutions acceptable to both sides on the key issues of the settlement. He added that Putin also reminded Trump that his invitation to visit Moscow remains open.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a post on his Telegram account, stressed that his conversation with Trump was very good, calling for American resolve to help end the war.
He said: "There is a real possibility of ending this war, and American resolve will be of decisive importance," noting that he agreed with Trump to continue talks during the NATO summit to be held in Turkey.
On the battlefield, the command of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced that air defence forces managed to neutralise 115 drones out of 129 used by Russian forces in their attacks on Ukraine since Saturday evening.
The Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform quoted a statement from the Air Force command published on its Facebook page, which read: "During the night of 5 July, the Russians launched an attack with one Kh-31 anti-radar missile from the Black Sea area, three Kh-59/69 air-guided missiles from the temporarily occupied airspace of the Zaporizhzhia region, and 125 attack drones."
The statement added: "The attack was countered by the air force, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian defence forces."
One person was also killed in a Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Peninsula, according to the head of the Moscow-appointed local authorities. Sergei Aksyonov said the attack, which also wounded 2 people, targeted northern Crimea.