MOSCOW – There are currently no grounds for optimism about a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis due to Ukraine's position, and Russia's special military operation is continuing, Kremlin said on Thursday.

While there is a trend of growing fatigue with support for Ukraine, some countries, including Britain, are doing their utmost to counter the trend and encourage European countries to continue the conflict with Russia, while increasing their own involvement, including direct technological and technical involvement, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing.

Asked about US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's visit for mediation, Peskov said the US envoys were still busy dealing with other areas of US foreign policy and that no date had yet been set for their visit to Russia.

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Meanwhile, Peskov said Russia greatly appreciates the efforts of all countries that are genuinely seeking to help resolve the Ukraine crisis.

"There are few such countries, but that makes their efforts all the more valuable and important," he said.

Drone attacks across Crimea, Donetsk

In Crimea, two people were killed and four others injured in Ukrainian attacks, Crimea region head Sergey Aksyonov said.

Separately, three civilians in the Donetsk region were injured in Ukrainian drone attacks, regional head Denis Pushilin noted, adding that three residential buildings, six civil-infrastructure facilities, two trucks and three cars sustained damage.