Russia-Ukraine war live: key village near Bakhmut retaken; Chinese foreign minister to visit Russia | Ukraine#RussiaUkraine #war #live #key #village #Bakhmut #retaken #Chinese #foreign #minister #visit #Russia #Ukraine

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, will begin a four-day visit to Russia for security talks on Monday, his foreign ministry said.

Agence France-Presse reports that his trip is the latest in a series of high-level visits and phone calls between the two sides, which have a “no limits” partnership.

China’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday that Wang would go to Russia for the “18th round of the China-Russian strategic security consultations” from 18 to 21 September at the invitation of Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Moscow’s security council.

In an earlier briefing, Moscow’s foreign ministry said Wang would meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and the two planned to “focus on efforts to strengthen collaboration on the international scene”.

A spokesperson said:

There will be a detailed exchange of views on issues related to a settlement in Ukraine, as well as ways of ensuring stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region.

China has sought to position itself as a neutral party on the Ukraine war while offering Moscow a vital diplomatic and financial lifeline as its international isolation deepens.

The high-level contact looks set to ramp up, with an aide to Vladimir Putin saying in July that the Russian president was planning to visit China in October.

The Ukrainian president says his forces have recaptured the strategically important village of Klishchiivka on the southern flank of the key frontline city of Bakhmut.

“Today I would like to particularly commend the soldiers who, step by step, are returning to Ukraine what belongs to it, namely in the area of Bakhmut,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Sunday.

The deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, shared a video of Ukrainian forces displaying flags including the blue and yellow national flag, with ruined buildings and the sound of ongoing fighting in the background. Russia was still trying to regain lost positions despite Klishchiivka’s liberation, she said on Telegram.

Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, also confirmed the recapture of the village, which Russia claimed control of in January and is about 9km (six miles) south of Bakhmut, the city taken by Russia in May after months of heavy fighting.

Ilia Yevlash, a spokesperson for Ukrainian troops in the east, said the battle inflicted “powerful damage” on Russian forces.

Read the full story here:

Welcome back to our rolling coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is Adam Fulton and here’s a roundup of the latest developments.

Ukrainian forces have recaptured the tactically important village of Klishchiivka near the key frontline city of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian president has said, in what would be Ukraine’s second significant gain in three days.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the soldiers fighting near Bakhmut and singled out those who had retaken Klishchiivka, saying “well done!” in an address.

Russia, meanwhile, meanwhile said it repelled Ukrainian 13 drone attacks on Crimea as well as outer Moscow and two border regions on Sunday.

And China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, will begin a four-day visit to Russia for security talks on Monday, his foreign ministry said.

More on those stories shortly. In other news:

• North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was on his way home from Russia on Sunday, ending a six-day trip that triggered global concerns about weapons transfer deals between the two countries. Kim began his journey back onboard his armoured train from the Primorye region in Russia’s far east after a farewell ceremony at the train station, Russian state news agency RIA said. After entering Russia on Tuesday in his first overseas trip in more than four years, Kim met Russian president Vladimir Putin, visited key military and technology sites and pledged to step up military and economic cooperation.

• North Korea may be able to boost Russia’s supply of artillery munitions for the war in Ukraine but that is not likely to make a big difference, the top American military officer said as he arrived in Norway for Nato meetings. US army Gen Mark Milley, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, said the recent meeting between Kim and Putin would probably lead North Korea to provide Soviet-era 152mm artillery rounds to Moscow. But he said it was not yet clear how many or how soon.

• US oil and gas multinationals are facing fresh questions over their trade with Russia after Russian customs records revealed that more than $7.1m (£5.7m) worth of equipment manufactured by Halliburton has been imported into the country since it announced the end of its Russian operations. Last September Halliburton, one of the world’s largest providers of products and services for oil and gas exploration, sold its Russian office to local management amid pressure on all US companies to cease their trade after the invasion of Ukraine.

• Ukraine will be able to conduct more attacks on Russian ships, a Ukrainian minister who has played a key role in building the country’s drone industry told Reuters after a recent series of sea raids. “There will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships. That’s for sure,” the digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said.

• The US expects to announce additional aid to Ukraine next week, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, while announcing that the US president, Joe Biden, would host Zelenskiy next Thursday at the White House. The Ukrainian leader was also expected to meet with congressional leaders from both political parties.

• A body has been found in Ukraine in the search for a British man who was reported missing a month ago. Daniel Burke, 36, from south Manchester, was reported missing on 16 August by family who had not heard from him, believing that he had travelled to Ukraine. Officers searching for Burke have been informed by Ukrainian authorities they have found a body.