Ukraine's president acknowledges military incursion onto Russian soil

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Days after Ukraine began a surprise military incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has broken the government’s silence on it by indirectly acknowledging the ongoing military actions to “push the war out into the aggressor’s territory.”

Zelenskyy's comment came in his nightly address late Saturday.

Ukraine’s incursion into Russia continued for a sixth day Sunday. It's the largest such attack since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022 and is unprecedented for its use of Ukrainian military units on Russian soil. Ukraine's raid into Russia caught Moscow unaware and was an embarrassment to Russian military leaders who have scrambled to contain the breach.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that its forces engaged Ukrainian troops in Tolpino, Zhuravli and Obshchy Kolodez, the official Tass news agency reported. Tolpino is 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Evacuation of civilians living in Russia’s border areas with Ukraine continued Sunday. Russian state television aired footage of evacuees at a tent camp in the city of Kursk. According to the report by RTR, more than 20 temporary accommodation centers have been set up in the region.

The exact aims of the operation remain unclear, and Ukrainian military officials have adopted a policy of secrecy, presumably to ensure its success. Military experts have said that it is likely intended to draw Russian reserves away from the intense fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, while a presidential adviser suggested that it may strengthen Kyiv’s hand in any future negotiations with Russia.

But Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday that Ukraine “understands perfectly well” that the recent attacks “make no sense from a military point of view.”

“The Kyiv regime is continuing its terrorist activity with the sole purpose of intimidating the peaceful population of Russia,” she added.

Meanwhile, a fire in the vicinity of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Power Plant was reported by Ukrainian officials late Sunday. According to Yevhen Yevtushenko, the head of the military administration of Nikopol, which is across the river from occupied Enerhodar where the plant is located, Russian forces set fire to automobile tires in the cooling towers to make it appear as though a fire had broken out.

“Perhaps this is a provocation or an attempt to create panic in the settlements on the right bank of the former reservoir,” he said. Zelenskyy also said Russia was using the plant to blackmail Ukraine and playing on Western fears of escalation. Yevhen Balytskyi, the Russia-appointed governor of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant and causing the fire. He provided no evidence for the claim.

Overnight into Sunday, a Russian drone and missile barrage on Kyiv killed two people, including a 4-year-old boy. Russia attacked Ukraine with four ballistic missiles and 57 Shahed drones, Ukraine's air force said. Air defenses shot down 53 of the drones.

The bodies of a 35-year-old man and his son were found under rubble after missile fragments fell on a residential area in Kyiv’s suburban Brovary district, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. Another three people in the district were wounded in the attack. It was the second time this month that Kyiv has been targeted, said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.

Popko said ballistic missiles didn't reach the capital, but that suburbs took the hit, while drones aiming for the capital were shot down.

In Russia, Kursk’s regional governor said that a Ukrainian missile shot down by Russian air defenses fell on a residential building, wounding 15 people. The Russian Defense Ministry said that 35 drones were shot down overnight over the Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk and Oryol regions.

Ukraine hasn't commented on the Sunday drone attacks inside Russia. But they come as Ukraine has increased the pace of similar drone attacks largely targeting military infrastructure and oil depots in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Belarus said that it was sending more troops to its border with Ukraine on Saturday, saying Ukrainian drones had violated its airspace as part of Kyiv’s military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Belarusian air defense forces destroyed dozens of targets flying from Ukraine over the Mogilev region, which borders Russia, on Friday evening.

“The Ukrainian armed forces violated all rules of conduct and violated the airspace of the Republic of Belarus. In the eastern direction, very close to us in the Kostyukovichi district,” Lukashenko said at a meeting in Minsk on Saturday.

Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said the government regards the violation of its airspace as a provocation and is “ready for retaliatory action."

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel retrieve bodies of a 35-year old man and his son, 4, from the rubble after Russian missile hit their house during the night missile attack in the village of Rozhyvka close to capital Kyiv Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Residents of an apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side stand near the building in Kursk, Russia, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo)

People walk near an apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side, in Kursk, Russia, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo)

Residents of an apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side leave the area in Kursk, Russia, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo)

Residents of the apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side leave an area in Kursk, Russia, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo)

Russian Emergency paramedics roll a stretcher with a resident of an apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side into an ambulance in Kursk, Russia, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo)

A resident of the apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side holds her smart phone sitting at the door of the shelter in Kursk, Russia, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo)

ATLANTA (AP) — Another big Atlanta crowd finally got a chance to see Lionel Messi in an MLS match.

They nearly watched United pull out a much-needed win over league-leading Inter Miami.

Alexey Miranchuk scored with a booming shot in the 84th minute and the home team pressed hard for the winning goal in stoppage time, only to settle for a 2-2 tie with Messi's Miami club before an announced crowd of 67,795 on Wednesday night.

After making a triumphant return to the Miami lineup with two goals and an assist last weekend, Messi started this game on the bench. Coach Gerardo Martino wanted to manage the minutes of his 37-year-old Argentine star, who is coming back from national team duties and an ankle injury with the club in the midst of a busy stretch.

Messi trotted on the field in the 61st to a big roar, shortly after Leo Campana scored off a deflected free kick to put the Herons in front. But the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner couldn't find the net in his limited time on the field, drawing plenty of attention from the United defenders.

“You've gotta keep an eye on him,” Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan said with a wry smile.

In June, Messi made an Atlanta appearance for Argentina in the opening game of the Copa America. But he didn’t play a year ago when Miami visited Atlanta, disappointing a crowd of 71,635.

He made the trip this time around, thrilling the crowd simply by warming up with three teammates shortly into the second half. Fans in the lower deck whipped out their phones and began snapping pictures.

Miami moved to 19-4-6 for 63 points with five matches remaining in the regular season. The Herons are eight points ahead of Cincinnati and LA Galaxy in the race for the Supporters' Shield and home-field advantage throughout the MLS playoffs.

Messi showed flashes. most notably with a point-blank shot that was swatted away by Guzan. Luis Suárez, who also came off the bench, collected the rebound with an open goal in front of him, only to be blocked at the line by Atlanta defender Pedro Amador.

In stoppage time, Messi dribbled around three players in the penalty area but failed to get off a shot. Finally, he threw up his arms in frustration when a pass was intercepted by Atlanta.

“Whoever plays, we try to support each other,” Miami defender Franco Negri said through a translator. “We know what Leo means, the importance he has.”

Martino was suspended for the match due to an accumulation of staff cautions, leaving assistant coach Javier Morales to run the team.

“I think we had a good performance,” Morales said. “But of course, Atlanta is at home. They're going to push. They had a big crowd, and this was the kind of game we were expecting.”

With the home team trailing 2-1, Miranchuk unleashed a left-footed shot from 20 meters out that found the top left corner of the goal.

United had been waiting for a moment like this from the Russian player who joined the club during the summer transfer window for reported $13 million fee, one of the highest ever for an incoming player to MLS. It was his first goal in four league matches.

“There’s not many goalkeepers in the world that are gonna save that one,” Guzan said. “That’s a glimpse of his quality and what he can do with the ball at his feet. We're trying to encourage him to do that more often.”

Both teams pressed forward in the closing minutes, with Atlanta creating the bulk of the chances, but neither could break through.

It was a discouraging result for Atlanta, which is 11th in the Eastern Conference and one point of out a playoff berth.

“We need three points,” Guzan said. “You have as many chances as we had, we should be coming away with three points.”

Miami grabbed the lead on David Ruiz’s goal in the 29th off another deflection. Negri’s pass hit someone just outside the area, somehow got through three other players and wound up going right to Ruiz, who was all alone between two Atlanta defenders and slid the shot past Guzan.

United tied it in the 56th when Saba Lobjanidze’s header slipped between the legs of Miami keeper Drake Callender.

Campana put the Herons ahead with a free kick that was intended for the right corner of the Atlanta goal. But the ball deflected off Dax McCarty and ricocheted into the net on the left side. Guzan, diving the other way, never had a chance.

Two minutes later, Messi came on for Julian Gressel.

UP NEXT

Inter Miami: Faces New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

Atlanta United: Travels to New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) works in front of Atlanta United midfielder Ajani Fortune (35) during the second half of a MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) works in front of Atlanta United midfielder Ajani Fortune (35) during the second half of a MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi controls the ball during the second half of a MLS soccer match against Atlanta United Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi talks to a teammate during the second half of a MLS soccer match against Atlanta United Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Inter Miami defender Serhiy Kryvtsov (27) and Atlanta United forward Daniel Ríos (19) battle for the ball during thre first half of a MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta United defender Derrick Williams (3) and Inter Miami forward Leonardo Campana (8) chase the ball during thre first half of a MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta United defender Stian Gregersen (5) and Inter Miami forward Leonardo Campana (8) battle for the ball during thre first half of a MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi leaves the pitch after during a MLS soccer match against Atlanta United Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi controls the ball during the second half of a MLS soccer match against Atlanta United Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10), right, and Atlanta United defender Derrick Williams (3) battle for control of the ball during the second half of a MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)