Russia says it thwarted a Ukrainian charge to expand its incursion. Kyiv says it won't occupy land

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia said Tuesday that its forces checked an effort by Ukrainian troops to expand a stunning weeklong incursion into the Kursk region, as a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Kyiv has no intention of occupying Russian territory.

Russian army units, including fresh reserves, aircraft, drone teams and artillery forces, stopped Ukrainian armored mobile groups from moving deeper into Russia near the Kursk settlements of Obshchy Kolodez, Snagost, Kauchuk and Alexeyevsky, a Russian Defense Ministry statement said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said the cross-border operation was aimed at protecting Ukrainian land from long-range strikes launched from Kursk.

“Ukraine is not interested in taking the territory of the Kursk region, but we want to protect the lives of our people,” Tykhyi was quoted as saying by local media.

He said Russia had launched more than 2,000 strikes from the Kursk region in recent months using anti-aircraft missiles, artillery, mortars, drones, 255 glide bombs and more than 100 missiles.

"The purpose of this operation is to preserve the lives of our children, to protect the territory of Ukraine from Russian strikes,” he said.

The commander of the Ukrainian military, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said in a video posted Tuesday to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel that Ukraine now controls 74 settlements in the Kursk region.

Ukrainian troops have continued to advance, gaining control over 40 square kilometers (15 square miles) of territory in the past 24 hours, Syrskyi said.

“Fights are ongoing along the entire front line. The situation, despite the high intensity of combat, is under control,” he added.

Ukraine’s Western partners have said the country has the right to defend itself, including by attacking across the border. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that he backed the Ukrainian operation, though he said Kyiv officials did not consult him about it beforehand.

Russian military actions in Ukraine bear "the hallmarks of genocide, inhumane crimes, and Ukraine has every right to wage war in such a way as to paralyze Russia in its aggressive intentions as effectively as possible,” Tusk said.

Kremlin forces intensified their attacks in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s General Staff said Tuesday that over the previous 24 hours, Russian troops launched 52 assaults in the area of Pokrovsk, a town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region that is close to the front line. That's roughly double the number of daily attacks there a week ago.

Ukraine's undermanned army has struggled to hold back the bigger, better-equipped Russian forces in Donetsk.

The Ukrainian military claims that its charge onto Russian soil that began Aug. 6 has already encompassed about 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Russian territory. The goals of the swift advance into the Kursk region have been a closely guarded military secret.

Analysts say a catalyst may also have been Ukraine’s desire to ease pressure on its front line by attempting to draw the Kremlin’s forces into defending Kursk and other border areas. If so, the increased pressure around Pokrovsk suggests Moscow did not take the bait.

Ukraine’s ambitious operation — the largest attack on Russia since World War II — has rattled the Kremlin. It compelled Russian President Vladimir Putin to convene a meeting Monday with his top defense officials.

Apparently, Ukraine assembled thousands of troops — some Western analysts estimate up to 12,000 — on the border in recent weeks without Russia noticing or acting.

About 121,000 people have been evacuated from Kursk or have fled the areas affected by fighting on their own, Russian officials say. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said it has seen geolocated footage indicating that Ukrainian forces advanced as much as 24 kilometers (15 miles) from the border.

The Russian Defense Ministry appeared to support that claim when it said Tuesday it had also blocked an attack by the units of Ukraine's 82nd Air Assault Brigade toward Maryinka, which is about that distance from Ukraine.

Russian state television on Tuesday showed residents from evacuated areas lining up in buildings and on the street to receive food and water. Volunteers were pictured distributing bags of aid, while officials from the country’s Ministry of Emergency Situations helped people, including children and older people, off buses.

“There is no light, no connection, no water. There is nothing. It’s as if everyone has flown to another planet, and you are left alone. And the birds stopped singing,” an older man called Mikhail told Russian state television. "Helicopters and planes fly over the yard and shells were flying. What could we do? We left everything behind.”

A motive behind Ukraine’s bold dive into Russia was to stir up unrest, according to Putin, but he said that effort would fail.

The successful border breach also was surprising because Ukraine has been short of manpower at the front as it waits for new brigades to complete training.

Dara Massicot, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment, said the Ukrainian breakthrough was a smart move because it exploited gaps between various Russian commands in Kursk: border guards, Ministry of Defense forces and Chechen units that have been fighting on Russia's side in the war.

Russian command and control is fractured in Kursk, Massicot said on X late Monday.

The Ukrainian Army's General Staff announced Tuesday that it was establishing a 20-kilometer (12-mile) restricted-access zone along Russian-Ukrainian border in the northeastern Sumy region, which borders Kursk.

The measures were introduced because of the increasing intensity of combat in the area and the rising presence of Russian reconnaissance and sabotage units there, a statement said.

Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Associated Press writers Emma Burrows and Jim Heintz contributed to this report from Tallinn, Estonia.

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

In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, a visitor examines military equipment displayed at Army-2024 military and technical forum at Patriot Park outside of Moscow, Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, center, examines military vehicles captured by Russian troops during the fighting in Ukraine displayed at Army-2024 military and technical forum at Patriot Park in Kubinka, outside of Moscow, Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, center, attends a stand of the Iranian defense ministry at Army-2024 military and technical forum at Patriot Park in Kubinka, outside of Moscow, Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, left, examines military vehicles captured by Russian troops during the fighting in Ukraine displayed at Army-2024 military and technical forum at Patriot Park in Kubinka, outside of Moscow, Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

An anti-tank system known as "dragon teeth" covers a field on the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Sumy region of Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Military vehicles drive near the Russian-Ukrainian border in Sumy region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Military vehicles drive near the Russian-Ukrainian border in Sumy region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A plate with sign "Kursk 108 km" is seen on the Russian-Ukrainian border in Sumy region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, Russian Army "Grad" self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher fires rockets toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, marine assault team members ride an APC and motorcycles toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, a marine assault team member rides motorcycle toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)

In this photo released by Russian Emergency Situations Ministry press service, people evacuated from a fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in Kursk region arrive to a temporary residence center in Moscow region, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ministry of Emergency Situations press service via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, marine assault team members ride motorcycles toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP)

SEATTLE (AP) — Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom struck out four in 3 2/3 scoreless innings at Seattle on Friday night in his return from Tommy John surgery.

“I told (a teammate) I'm like a baby deer out here: ‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’" deGrom said. “I almost fell over. I had quite a bit of nerves, so getting back out there was big. My legs were shaking a little bit.”

DeGrom allowed two hits in the fourth and was removed after he retired Jorge Polanco on a flyball to center. Walter Pennington then came in and got J.P. Crawford to bounce to second, leaving runners on the corners.

The 36-year-old deGrom threw 61 pitches, 41 for strikes, in his first major league appearance since April 28, 2023. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner allowed four hits and walked none.

He graded his performance as a C.

“It’s big to get out and pitch in a major league game, so you don’t feel like you’re in rehab mode for two straight years,” deGrom said. “And now let’s just try to get things back where they were executing pitches like you normally do and get ready to play next year.”

DeGrom agreed to a $185 million, five-year contract with Texas in December 2022 after beginning his big league career with the New York Mets. He made six starts for the Rangers last year before he got hurt.

He had surgery to replace the ligament in his elbow in June 2023. He also had the same procedure in 2010 while in the minor leagues.

DeGrom allowed Victor Robles' leadoff infield single in the first, but got out of the inning with the help of two strikeouts. After hitting Luke Raley to lead off the second, he induced three easy popouts to the edge of the infield. In the third, he deflected a Robles liner back to the mound with his glove, and then made the throw for the out.

Manager Bruce Bochy said he saw nothing that concerned him about the performance.

I wanted to see “exactly what I saw: the fastball, the velocity, the slider,” Bochy said. “He threw some changeups, used all his pitches. That’s what you want to see, just somebody that’s healthy out there.”

DeGrom made four rehab starts for Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, allowing one earned run over 10 2/3 innings for a 0.84 ERA. He struck out 15 batters and walked one.

Bochy said he'll install a six-man rotation the rest of the season to make room for deGrom and Max Scherzer, who makes his return Saturday.

“The goal for the next two is to really dial things in,” deGrom said. “And then you can treat it like a normal offseason.”

Texas Rangers' Jacob deGrom delivers against the Seattle Mariners during a baseball game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Seattle. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)