Strikes on four vessels signal that Kyiv is willing to expand the maritime theater of the conflict in an effort to crimp Moscow’s military funding.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News during an exclusive interview in Moscow on Monday that he believes the warring parties are close to a deal.

Aiden Aslin, a British volunteer who joined Ukraine’s marines, was captured and tortured by Putin’s forces in 2022 and is now back fighting the Kremlin. He tells his story to the ‘World of Trouble’ podcast with world affairs editor Sam Kiley in eastern Ukraine:

A Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa in southern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded 27, Ukraine's emergency service said Saturday, as a a Kremlin envoy was set to travel to Florida for talks on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war.

The Russian economy has been dealing with growing headwinds this year: unruly inflation, a ballooning budget deficit and shrinking energy revenues. But analysts say the Kremlin could weather the storm for many more years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declares Russia's Ukraine war goals will be achieved through negotiations or military force as diplomatic efforts.

Follow live updates from NBC News as Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at his annual year-end news conference on Ukraine, peace, war and Trump.

Europe has “failed to rob” Russia of its frozen assets, President Vladimir Putin has said in the aftermath of a deal to offer Ukraine a massive €90bn interest-free loan. It did not reach an agreement on the use of frozen Russian assets. “They failed to rob, due to grave consequences for the robbers,” he said.