A woman is killed near Moscow after more than 140 Ukrainian drones target Russia, officials say

Over 140 Ukrainian drones targeted multiple Russian regions overnight, including Moscow and surrounding areas, killing at least one person and injuring eight, officials said Tuesday, in one of the biggest drone attacks on Russian soil in the 2 1/2-year war.

A woman died in the town of Ramenskoye, just outside Moscow, where drones hit two multistory residential buildings and started fires, Moscow region Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said. Five residential buildings were evacuated due to falling drone debris, Vorobyov said.

The attack also prompted the authorities to shut three airports just outside Moscow — Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky — forcing 48 flights to be diverted to other airports, according to Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia.

The first two airports, which are Russia's second- and third-busiest, reopened in the morning but Zhukovsky was still closed in the afternoon because law enforcement officers were dealing with drone debris there, an airport spokesperson told the Interfax news agency.

It was the second massive Ukrainian drone attack on Russia this month. On Sept. 1, the Russian military said it intercepted 158 Ukrainian drones over more than a dozen Russian regions in what Russian media described as the biggest Ukrainian drone barrage since the start of the war. Russia’s Investigative Committee announced a criminal investigation into what it described as a terror attack.

Russia has pummeled Ukraine with missiles, glide bombs and its own drones, killing over 10,000 civilians since the war began in 2022, according to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 46 Shahed drones and two missiles at Ukraine overnight. The air force said it downed 36 of the drones.

Ukraine has invested a lot of effort in developing domestic drone production, extending drones’ range, payload and uses. It has increasingly utilized drone blitzes to slow Russia’s war machine, disrupt Russian society and provoke the Kremlin.

Ukrainian officials have complained that weapons pledged by the country’s Western partners fall short of what their military needs and commonly arrive long after promised. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged defense companies to increase their output.

On the battlefield's 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, Ukrainian troops are up against Russia's larger and better-equipped army. The two sides are especially contesting parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, fighting over towns and villages that are bombed-out wrecks, while Ukraine last month launched a bold incursion into Russia's Kursk border region.

In Moscow on Monday night, drone debris fell on a private house on the outskirts of the city, but no one was hurt, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. He counted over a dozen drones heading toward Moscow that were shot down by air defenses as they were approaching the city.

Overall, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it “intercepted and destroyed” 144 Ukrainian drones over nine Russian regions, including those on the border with Ukraine and those deeper inside Russia.

Ukrainian officials declined to comment on the attack.

As the war drags on, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been expanding his alliances:

The Russian military on Tuesday began massive naval and air drills, involving over 90,000 troops and over 400 warships, that China will also take part in, the Defense Ministry said.

Putin is also beefing up his military arsenal with Iranian ballistic missiles, the United States and Britain said Tuesday.

Moscow and the surrounding region have often come under attack throughout the war.

In May 2023, Russian officials said Ukraine tried to attack the Kremlin with drones which lightly damaged the roof of the palace that includes one of Putin’s official residences.

In August 2023, a drone attack on Moscow’s prestigious business district blew out part of a section of windows on a high-rise building and sent glass cascading to the streets, unsettling Muscovites. The attacks exposed gaps in the city and region’s air defenses.

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

People gather to talk with local officials at the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building, following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken from video released by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel, Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev, back to the camera, visits a wounded man after an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on multi-storey residential building prior to be transferred to a Moscow's hospital, in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel, medical workers roll on a stretcher with a wounded man to a helicopter and transfer him to a Moscow's hospital, after an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on multi-storey residential building in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel via AP)

A view of the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building, following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo)

A view of the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building, following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo)

Police cars are parked at the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo)

A view of the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo)

A view of the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building with the children's playground, foreground, following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo)

A view of the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo)

This photo released by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel shows the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel via AP)

This photo released by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel shows the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel via AP)

This photo released by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel shows the site of the damaged multi-storey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Moscow region, Russia, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev official telegram channel via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minnesota police officer who was convicted of killing a Black motorist when she used her handgun instead of her taser during a traffic stop is out of prison and delivering presentations at law enforcement conferences, stirring up a heated debate over how officers punished for misconduct should atone for their misdeeds.

After Kim Potter served her sentence for killing Daunte Wright, she met with the prosecutor who charged her case. That former prosecutor, Imran Ali, said Potter wanted to do something to help other officers avoid taking a life. Ali saw the presentation as a path toward redemption for police officers who have erred and an opportunity to promote healing in communities already shaken by police misconduct.

But Katie Wright, Daunte's mother, said the plan amounts to an enraging scheme where her son’s killer would turn a profit from his death and dredge up painful memories in the process.

“I think that Kim Potter had her second chance. She got to go home with her children. That was her second chance,” Wright said. “I think that when we’re looking at police officers, when they’re making quote-unquote mistakes, they still get to live in our community. They still get to continue their lives. That’s their second chance. We don’t have a second chance to be able to bring our loved ones back.”

Potter, who did not respond to phone and email messages, had been set to deliver her presentation to a law enforcement agency in Washington state when it was abruptly canceled in September after news reports generated criticism. But other law enforcement groups, including one of the largest in Minnesota, have hosted the presentation and are continuing to invite Potter to speak.

Some see canceling her presentation as short-sighted, saying she could share a cautionary tale with others who have to make life-or-death decisions in the field.

“This is the definition of why I decided to walk away. You have somebody that recognizes the need for reform, recognizes the need for redemption, recognizes the need to engage. And still,” Ali said. “If you’re in law enforcement in this country, there is no redemption.”

Ali initially was co-counsel in the case against Potter. But he resigned, saying “vitriol” and “partisan politics” made it hard to pursue justice. Ali is now a law enforcement consultant and said he is working to help departments implement changes that could prevent more officers from making Potter’s mistake.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office took over the prosecution of Potter after Ali resigned, has said the former officer's public expression of remorse could help the community heal.

Wright was killed on April 11, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from where the officer who killed George Floyd was on trial. Wright's killing ignited protests as communities in Minneapolis and beyond were still reeling from Floyd’s murder. A jury later found Potter guilty of manslaughter. A judge said Potter never intended to hurt Wright and sentenced her to two years in prison. She was released after 16 months and later connected with Ali.

“I was like, wow. Even after being convicted, even after being driven out of your home, even after having so many death threats against you and having been incarcerated, you just don’t want to go away,” Ali said.

The pair have become a fixture at Minnesota Sheriff’s Association events. They delivered training sessions at conferences in June and September, with a future training scheduled in October. They also took their presentation out of state in May when Potter presented at a law enforcement conference in Indiana, event agendas show.

Jeff Storms, Wright’s attorney, said the description of the Washington training session in the contract prepared by Ali’s law firm reads more like an advertisement tailored for police officers who feel embattled, rather than a heartfelt story of Potter’s regrets.

“The officer, and the prosecutor who quit in protest, will deliver a dynamic presentation on the truth of what occurred, the increased violence and non-compliance directed towards law enforcement, the importance of training, and steps we can take in the future,” says the contract for the training session, which was obtained by The Associated Press.

That passage suggests Ali is engineering support for Potter and his law firm, Storms said.

“They profit from law enforcement training. And so to say this is simply about sort of a redemption arc for Ms. Potter in doing this training, it sounds really hard to believe that that’s the case," Storms said.

Ali’s firm proposed a $8,000 charge for the training session, which includes speaking fees and travel costs, the contract says.

“To say my firm is trying to benefit off an $8,000 contract is ridiculous,” Ali said.

He did not say how much money Potter would earn, but said the amount was far less than what she might earn telling her story through a book deal or another project. Ali declined to show the AP the full presentation he and Potter had been set to deliver in Washington. But he described Potter’s opening line, which would read: “I killed Daunte Wright. I’m not proud of it. And neither should you be.”

Ali said he is committed to helping law enforcement agencies implement changes that would prevent more officers from making Potter’s mistake. The backlash to Potter telling her story at the training session speaks to a view among some that redemption for those convicted of crimes does not extend to police officers, Ali said.

“We can give the benefit of the doubt to people that are former Ku Klux Klan members or former skinheads that come in and educate, sometimes even our youth,” Ali said. “But we cannot give law enforcement that chance.”

Rachel Moran, a professor specializing in police accountability at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said the perspectives of victims and their families should be considered by law enforcement agencies when they decide who to include at training sessions. But Potter's voice might be able to penetrate a law enforcement culture that is skeptical of outside criticism, she said

“Police officers culturally do have a pattern of not wanting to hear outside perspectives and not believing other people can understand the situation," she added. “So to hear from someone who is very much in their shoes, who’s actually willing to admit an error, I think that has potential to be heard more by officers than an outsider.”

In an interview, James Stuart, executive director of the Minnesota Sheriff's Association, said Potter's upcoming presentation would go on, despite the blowback. His organization has a responsibility to learn from the “national moment of upheaval” sparked by Potter's killing of Wright.

“She'll be the first to say she's not a hero and it was a horrific tragic accident,” Stuart said. “I understand the concerns and the criticisms, but I would also hope they could understand the value of learning from mistakes and making sure that no other families find themselves in that same situation.”

Former prosecutor Imran Ali discussed a use of force training he co-presents with former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (AP photo/Mark Vancleave)

FILE - Katie Bryant, Daunte Wright's mother, is surrounded by community members and activists at the apartment building where activists say Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu lives after former officer Kim Potter was sentenced to two years in prison, Feb. 18, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Nicole Neri, File)