Pogačar storms to a third straight Liège–Bastogne–Liège win

LIEGE, Belgium (AP) — Four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar continued his dominance on Sunday after becoming the first rider this century to earn three straight victories at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège classic cycling race.

The triumph capped an outstanding run in which Pogačar also won two other “monuments” of one-day cycling — Milan-San Remo and Tour of Flanders.

“It means a lot to win one of the biggest races in cycling again,” the 27-year-old Pogačar said. “I don’t do many races anymore, and thus don’t have many opportunities to win. That means I’m under a lot of pressure on days like today.”

The Slovenian lost to Wout van Aert at Paris-Roubaix earlier this month. The fifth and final Monument race will be the Tour of Lombardy in October.

“I’m really happy that we succeeded,” Pogačar said. “I hope we can keep going like this into the summer. We are in a good place right now. I feel good on the bike and during training, and I appreciate the time I spend with my teammates more and more every year.”

Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old French rider, was second to Pogačar on Sunday. Remco Evenepoel finished third.

“I always race to win, but we know that Pogačar has been utterly dominant these last few years, so just being able to follow him is already something.” Seixas said. “You have to take things one step at a time, without rushing.”

FDJ Suez rider Demi Vollering became the first three-time winner of the women's race.

The Dutchwoman is one of the most decorated cyclists of her generation. She won the Tour de France in 2023.

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First place, Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates celebrates on the podium during the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates crosses the finish line to win the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

First place, Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates, center, poses on the podium with second place France's Paul Seixas, left, and third place Belgium's Remco Evenepoel of the Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe team during the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates crosses the finish line to win the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates crosses the finish line to win the Belgian cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Liege Bastogne Liege, in Liege, Belgium, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Strikes across Ukraine, Russian-occupied territory and Russia over the past day killed at least 16 people, authorities said Sunday as the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster prompted new warnings about risks posed by attacks near the plant during Russia’s more than four-year invasion of its neighbor.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the anniversary with a warning that Russian attacks risk repeating history.

“Russia is once again bringing the world to the brink of a man-made disaster — Russian-Iranian Shaheds regularly fly over the plant, and one of them struck the confinement last year,” he wrote on Facebook, referring to the Iran-designed drones that have wreaked havoc since Moscow launched its all-out war in February 2022.

“The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way is to force Russia to stop its reckless attacks,” Zelenskyy said.

Russian drone and missile strikes on the city of Dnipro killed at least nine, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said Sunday.

One man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the port city of Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea, Moscow-installed authorities said Sunday. Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world considered illegal, and has used it as a staging and supply point during the war.

Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-installed governor in Ukraine’s Luhansk region — of which Russia earlier this month said it had taken full control, a claim denied by Ukraine — said three people were killed in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike on a village, after reporting two people were killed in the early hours of Saturday.

Ukraine did not comment on either attack, which could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.

Earlier, a woman was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod border region, according to local authorities.

Ukrainian forces also struck an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, deep inside Russian territory, Ukraine’s General Staff said Sunday. The strikes sparked fires at the facility, which processes 15 million tons of oil a year and produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the Russian military. Russia did not immediately comment.

Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones, which can reach targets some 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) inside Russia.

It has used them recently against Russian oil facilities as Moscow looks to boost its exports after the Trump administration gave it a temporary waiver from sanctions to ease supply constraints. Kyiv officials complain that Russia will use the additional revenue on new weapons to hit Ukraine harder.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, echoed Zelenskyy's concerns over Chernobyl during a visit to Kyiv, saying repairs to the plant’s damaged outer protective shell must begin immediately.

IAEA assessments show the damage sustained after a strike last year has already compromised a key safety function of the structure, he said, warning that years of inaction could heighten danger to the original sarcophagus beneath it.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said repairs would require at least 500 million euros ($586 million).

Energy Minister Denys Smyhal said on Sunday that partner commitments to fund repairs at the facility totaled 100 million euros ($108 million). That is in addition to a previously agreed 30 million euros ($32 million).

Ukrainian officials say a Russian drone struck the outer shell of the plant’s New Safe Confinement structure — a $2.1 billion archlike enclosure completed in 2019 over the remains of Reactor No. 4 — in February 2025. Moscow denied targeting the plant, alleging Kyiv staged the attack.

Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov visited North Korea on Sunday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about future military cooperation between the countries.

Belousov said the countries agreed to “transition military cooperation to a sustainable, long-term basis,” according to Russia state news agency Ria Novosti.

During the visit, he presented the Russian Order of Courage to Korean service members who served in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion in August 2024.

Kim has sent thousands of troops and large weapons shipments to support Russia's war against Ukraine.

Associated Press journalist Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

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

Red flowers lie on a bas-relief of firefighter Georgy Popov atop of his grave at the Mitinskoye Cemetery where several victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster are buried, marking the 40th anniversary of the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, outside Moscow, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A man lights a candle at a memorial dedicated to firefighters and workers who died after the 1986 Chornobyl (Chernobyl) nuclear disaster, ahead of its 40th anniversary in Slavutych, Ukraine, Saturday, April 25, 2026. Chornobyl is the Ukrainian name for the city. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

Red flowers lie on a bas-relief of firefighter Georgy Popov atop of his grave at the Mitinskoye Cemetery where several victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster are buried, marking the 40th anniversary of the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, outside Moscow, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian Emergency Ministry troops and veterans lay flowers at the graves of firefighters at the Mitinskoye Cemetery where several victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster are buried, marking the 40th anniversary of the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, outside Moscow, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

People dressed in white protective suits hold candles during a memorial service dedicated to firefighters and workers who died after the 1986 Chornobyl (Chernobyl) nuclear disaster, ahead of its 40th anniversary in Slavutych, Ukraine, Saturday, April 25, 2026. Chornobyl is the Ukrainian name for the city. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

A man looks at a memorial dedicated to firefighters and workers who died after the 1986 Chornobyl (Chernobyl) nuclear disaster, ahead of its 40th anniversary in Slavutych, Ukraine, Saturday, April 25, 2026. Chornobyl is the Ukrainian name for the city. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

A man stands at a balcony of a residential building damaged by a Russian strike on Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mykola Synelnykov)

Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian strike, in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mykola Synelnykov)

A woman walks in a yard of a residential building damaged by a Russian strike on Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mykola Synelnykov)

A man covered in thermal blanket stands in a yard of a residential building damaged by a Russian strike on Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mykola Synelnykov)