Kansas City is World Cup central, hosting England, Argentina and the Netherlands along with 6 games

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Of all places, the American Midwest — and Kansas City in particular — could be considered the heart of the World Cup scene, and not just because of its geographic location right smack in the middle of the United States.

Six games will be played at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, including a match in the round of 32 and a quarterfinal. But there also will be four high-profile clubs based in and around Kansas City: Lionel Messi and Argentina, Harry Kane and England and Virgil van Dijk and the Netherlands in the metropolitan area, with Algeria in nearby Lawrence, home of the University of Kansas.

Oh, and remember: There is a Kansas City, Missouri, and a Kansas City, Kansas, which can be confusing to first-time visitors. Most of the World Cup activities will be taking place on the Missouri side of the state line.

There are plenty of cultural attractions in Kansas City, including the National World War I Memorial and Museum, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the renowned Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the American Jazz Museum and Union Station.

Kansas City is known for its barbecue, particularly burnt ends, which are the trimmed points of a brisket. The real question isn't what to eat but where, because there are dozens of top BBQ joints. They range from the upscale (Fiorella's Jack Stack) to the famous (Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que) to the award-winning (Q39) to the legendary (Arthur Bryant's) and the beloved dives (B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ). For World Cup fans planning stops here, in Texas and in Georgia, a BBQ tour to compare styles is a must.

The free fan festival in Kansas City will be held on the grounds of the World War I memorial. Big screens will show World Cup matches, and live music from the likes of the Chainsmokers, Flo Rida and The All-American Rejects is on the schedule.

Getting around downtown is easy thanks to the Kansas City streetcar. Getting to the games is another issue. Arrowhead Stadium is located about 10 miles east of downtown, and fans typically drive to the stadium. Parking will be severely limited for the World Cup, so more than 200 buses will provide ticketed shuttle services from areas around town.

Arrowhead Stadium has no roof, and summer temperatures can reach triple digits in Kansas City, which is why all the games will be played at night. This is also the heart of tornado alley, so keeping an eye on the weather is imporant. The stadium itself is one of the iconic facilities in the NFL and known for providing the Chiefs a big homefield advantage. It will be replaced by 2031 with a new, $3 billion domed stadium that will be built across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - The moon rises beyond sculptures atop the Liberty Memorial tower at the National World War I Museum, July 6, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)

FILE - A person crosses a downtown street as the sun sets, March 31, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)

FILE - People fish in the Kansas River as the full moon rises beyond the downtown skyline, May 11, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)

FILE - A general overall interior view of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium during the first half of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions, Sept. 7, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drone and missile strikes targeting Ukraine’s power grid during the night killed at least five people and wounded 39 others, Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuked Moscow for what he said was its “utter cynicism” in launching the attacks after Russia announced a unilateral truce over two days later this week while it marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

“Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”

The truce proposal follows a familiar pattern of Russia declaring short unilateral ceasefires during the war timed to various holidays — most recently Orthodox Easter — that don't produce any tangible results amid deep mistrust between Moscow and Kyiv more than four years after Russia launched an all-out invasion of its neighbor.

The Russian Defense Ministry declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday, but said that it would strike back at the country if it tries to disrupt the festivities on Victory Day, which Russia marks annually on May 9.

Zelenskyy replied that Ukraine would observe a truce beginning at 12 a.m. on Wednesday and would respond in kind to Russia’s actions from that moment on. He didn't put an end date on the truce.

Russian forces fired 11 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 164 strike drones at Ukraine overnight from Monday to Tuesday, including a jet-powered Shahed drone variant, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

Air defense units stopped 149 drones and one missile, but others got through, it said. Two ballistic missiles failed to reach their targets, the air force said without elaborating.

Russia has repeatedly hammered Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. It hit natural gas production facilities in Ukraine’s central Poltava and northeastern Kharkiv regions, state energy company Naftogaz Group said.

Since the start of the year, Naftogaz facilities have come under attack 107 times, the company said.

Zelenskyy said that the Poltava attack was “especially vile,” because Russia launched a second missile at the same target when emergency rescuers were working at the scene.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that Russia’s main targets were energy facilities, oil and gas infrastructure, railways and industrial sites, although the attacks also damaged homes, businesses and the transportation network.

Russia’s ceasefire proposals “remain only statements,” Svyrydenko said.

Ukraine also kept up the pace of its long-range attacks on Russian rear areas, apparently aiming at more oil facilities.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its forces destroyed 289 Ukrainian drones overnight in 18 Russian regions. Drones were also intercepted over the occupied Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and over the Azov Sea, it said.

A Ukrainian drone attack wounded three people in the city of Cheboksary, located east of Moscow and more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) from the Ukrainian border, the regional health ministry said.

Ukrainian drones also attacked the Kirishi oil refinery in the Leningrad region close to St. Petersburg, sparking a blaze in the town’s industrial zone, local Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said.

Drozdenko said on social media that 29 Ukrainian drones had been shot down during the attack. No casualties were reported.

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

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)

In this photo, provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire a vehicle following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)