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 Kremlin envoy was set to travel to Florida for talks on a U.

Putin set out the Kremlin's stance in the opening moments of his annual end-of-year press conference, a marathon event that typically runs for four hours.

European Union leaders have agreed to provide Ukraine with a massive interest-free loan to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years

As the war between Russia and Ukraine persists, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his nation's "troops are advancing," The Associated Press reported.

Even under fire, Ukraine is ramping up its arms industry. President Volodymyr Zelensky says the country now produces more than 50% of the weapons it uses on the front line. Almost its entire inventory of long-range weapons is domestically made.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was hopeful but clear about the challenges facing the Trump administration's Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas peace efforts and defended increasing U.S. military pressure on Venezuela during a marathon end-of-year news conference Friday.

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.