Ukraine war: Kyiv advances in south and east, Putin North Korea arms talks, Black Sea oil platform

Kim Jong Un will come to Russia for an official visit "in the coming days", the Kremlin said on Monday, though it did not give a precise date. 

Rumours have been rife for a week about the North Korean leader's visit, with Washington suspecting that Moscow wants to strike arms deals with its ally. 

The Kremlin said Kim was invited by Russian President Vladimir Putin "at the invitation of the Russian president."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that Kim Jong Un's train "appeared" to have set off from Russia, with the two sharing a short border in the Far East. 

The White House said last week Pyongyang wanted to meet Russia to discuss arms sales for Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. 

Washington warned North Korea would pay "the price within the international community."

Ukraine said on Monday it had taken back an oil and gas platform in the Black Sea seized by Moscow in 2015. 

The move comes amid Kyiv's counteroffensive and renewed tensions in the waters off Ukrainian ports.

During what it called a "unique operation", Ukraine's military intelligence said fighting took place between Ukrainian special forces on board boats and a Russian Su-30 aircraft, claiming the "the Russian plane was damaged and had to retreat."

Kyiv's forces "managed to seize valuable trophies," it added, including helicopter ammunition and Neva radar for tracking ship movements in the Black Sea. 

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia used the platform for military purposes, particularly as a helicopter landing pad and for deploying radar. 

In June 2022, Moscow accused Kyiv of firing on offshore platforms off the coast of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

Local Russian-backed authorities reported three injured and