Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday said the ball was in the court of the West and Kyiv in talks to end the war in Ukraine, while hailing Moscow's recent battlefield gains and threatening more.

Speaking during his annual end-of-year news conference -- a staple of his 25-year rule -- Putin told Russians that Moscow was intent on pressing on in Ukraine, striking a confident tone.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Ukrainian and U.S. delegations would hold new talks on Friday and Saturday in the United States aiming to end the Russian invasion.

"On Friday and Saturday, our team will be in the United States of America; they are already on their way... and the Americans are waiting for them," Zelensky told reporters, adding that European officials may also attend the talks.

A senior Ukrainian diplomat announced on Thursday he had arrived in Beijing, a close ally of Russia, where he was expected to hold talks with Chinese diplomats.

"Busy day ahead in Beijing," Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya wrote on social media.

Belgium insisted on Thursday that its European Union partners must provide ironclad guarantees that it will be protected from Russian retaliation before it would back a massive loan for Ukraine.

At a high-stakes EU summit in Brussels, the 27-nation bloc's leaders are set to decide on whether to use tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to underwrite a loan to meet Ukraine's military and financial needs over the next two years.

China told the United States on Thursday to "immediately stop" arming Taiwan, after Taipei said Washington had approved the sale of $11 billion of weapons to the island.

"China urges the United States to abide by the one-China principle... and immediately stop the dangerous actions of arming Taiwan," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference.

Ukrainian drone attacks overnight Thursday killed three people in Russia's Rostov region, the regional governor said, as the conflict rages on despite US efforts to stop the fighting.

An attack caused a fire on a cargo ship in the port of the regional capital, killing two crew members and injuring three, acting regional governor Yuri Sliusar said on Telegram. The blaze was later extinguished.

Major cities in Sudan including capital Khartoum and Port Sudan were plunged into darkness on Thursday, several witnesses told AFP, after deadly drone strikes targeted a key power plant in the east of the country.

Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke rising in the town of Atbara in River Nile State, which is controlled by the army in its ongoing war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Venezuela struck a defiant note Wednesday, insisting that crude oil exports were not impacted by US President Donald Trump's announcement of a blockade.

The Venezuelan military said Wednesday it was "not intimidated" by threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and leaving the South American country.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday the bloc must take a decision on financing Ukraine at a crunch summit this week, with leaders under pressure to agree a plan to use frozen Russian assets.

"There is no more important act of European defence than supporting Ukraine's defence. The next days will be a crucial step for securing this, it is up to us to choose how we fund Ukraine's fight," von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.