U.S. dollar ticks down

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.02 percent to 96.799 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro lost to 1.1894 dollars from 1.1921 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound dropped to 1.3666 dollars from 1.3699 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 154.49 Japanese yen, lower than 155.68 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar climbed to 0.7682 Swiss francs from 0.7660 Swiss francs, and it decreased to 1.3551 Canadian dollars from 1.3557 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar declined to 8.9021 Swedish kronor from 8.9094 Swedish kronor.

Russia said on Tuesday that it had taken control of a settlement in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, while Ukraine reported repelling a number of Russian attacks across multiple fronts on the same day.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that Russian forces had struck Ukrainian targets in 139 areas over the previous 24 hours, including energy facilities and transport infrastructure, sites used for the assembly, storage and launch preparation of long-range drones, and also targeting temporary deployment points of Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries.

Russian air defense systems shot down about 100 fixed-wing drones, the ministry said, adding that Russian forces had taken control of a settlement in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that 168 combat engagements took place along the frontlines over the past day, with Ukrainian forces repelling Russian attacks in multiple directions. According to a statement, Ukraine's air force, missile units and artillery carried out strikes on five concentrated areas of Russian troops and hit one transport infrastructure facility, and also shot down close to 1,200 Russian drones.

In another notable development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a presidential decree on Tuesday amending regulations on military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, allowing people over the age of 60 to serve under contract during wartime.

Under the decree, during the period of martial law, individuals aged over 60 may be permitted to serve under one-year renewable contracts, provided they pass a medical examination by a military medical commission and obtain written consent from unit commanders.

The revised rules also stipulate that if martial law is terminated or lifted, such contracts will be ended ahead of schedule, and the personnel concerned will be discharged from service in accordance with the law.