Day After US Announces Easing of Sanctions on Russian Diesel, Zaporizhzhia Hit by Glide-Bomb Attack Killing at Least 20 Civilians

According to BBC reporting, the Russian military on the morning of the 10th dropped five glide bombs on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, directly hitting residential buildings and killing at least 20 people, including four children, with at least 32 injured. Rescue operations are still ongoing, and missing persons may be buried beneath the rubble.

Citing Ukrainian officials, the BBC reported that the bombs struck an apartment building in a residential area, causing severe damage. Acting Mayor Regina Kharchenko, speaking before television cameras at the scene, said: "The first floor was hit, and the floors above immediately collapsed." She said more than 80 rescue workers are taking part in the search operation, which is expected to continue for an entire day; rescuers periodically stop to listen for any sounds of survivors that might come from beneath the rubble.

Zaporizhzhia is a major regional center of more than 700,000 residents, located less than 16 kilometers from the front line and long within the strike range of Russian drones and missiles. Kharchenko said the Russian military had attacked "our heart," and that "our very youngest children" were among the dead, describing this as "unbearable grief" for the families and for the city.

Ukrainian President Zelensky immediately pointed the finger at the United States after the attack. He said Russia's strike on Zaporizhzhia was its way of "thanking" US President Trump for the sanctions-easing agreement announced the previous evening on the 9th that permits the import of Russian-produced diesel. According to the BBC, Zelensky wrote that Russia had also launched attacks on 13 other Ukrainian regions overnight, a fact that showed Moscow treats "any reduction in pressure as a signal that it can keep fighting."

Zelensky stated explicitly on social media: "Russia's choice is war. It will only be willing to end the war when it feels its ability to drag it out is weakening. Regrettably, the signal Russia received yesterday said exactly the opposite — suggesting it can keep pressing forward. These signals must be corrected." He had previously also described the US-Russia diesel deal as a "gift" to Russian President Putin.

The BBC noted that analysts believe Trump pushed the deal in order to ease domestic concerns in the United States over high fuel prices in the run-up to the upcoming midterm elections. Yet, at almost the very moment the sanctions were being eased, civilians in Zaporizhzhia were being killed by Russian glide bombs.

This is not an isolated incident. The BBC's review noted that just two days before the attack, the Russian military had used glide bombs to strike two civilian buses in Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, killing at least 33 people. The day before that, a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the town of Pryluky, east of Kyiv, killing 22 people, including five children.

United Nations data show that civilian casualties in Ukraine in the first eight months of this year rose 55 percent year on year. With winter approaching, Moscow has also intensified its strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians, a charge that Russia denies.

According to BBC reporting, while the war continues, Ukraine itself has increasingly adopted a strategy of striking Russian economic infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, including multiple oil refineries and oil depot terminals. After data centers belonging to tech giant Yandex were hit, the company has struggled to maintain services. Ukraine has claimed these operations are aimed at cutting off funding for the Russian war machine.