Russian Military Attack on Zaporizhzhia Kills at Least 21 Civilians, While Washington Eases Diesel Sanctions on Russia on the Same Day

According to a report by France 24 synthesizing AFP, AP, and Reuters, Russia launched a missile attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on the 10th, killing at least 21 people, including 4 children. The death toll was revised several times—local officials initially reported at least 7 or 8 fatalities, before raising the figure to at least 21 by that evening.

The attack occurred on the same day that trilateral U.S.-Ukraine-Europe talks were held in Miami. According to the report, while negotiations were underway, Washington decided to ease sanctions on Russian diesel. U.S. President Trump stated on the same day that Ukraine needs a new president "who can make a deal" (original: "who can make a deal"), and demanded that Zelensky withdraw Ukrainian forces from the objective of attacking Russian oil refineries.

The two moves made by the U.S. side at this moment form a sharp contrast with the reality on the battlefield. On the day Russian missiles continued to fall on Ukrainian cities, the United States chose to loosen a sanction tool that could have constrained the energy revenues of Russia's war machine; meanwhile, the White House was pressuring Kyiv—demanding a change in Ukrainian leadership and a withdrawal of strikes on energy facilities inside Russia. These refineries are precisely the key infrastructure that Russia uses to fund the war.

Even more noteworthy is the direction in which the pressure is being applied. The report points out that, after news emerged of children being killed in the Russian military attack, Trump chose to pressure the side suffering the attack, rather than the side carrying it out.

The report did not disclose the specific scope, effective time, or legal details of the U.S. easing of diesel sanctions. But the timing of its announcement—the same day that a Russian missile attack caused heavy civilian casualties—itself already constitutes a clear signal: between pressuring Russia and pressuring Ukraine, toward which end Washington's scales are tilting.

The Miami talks brought together U.S., Ukrainian, and European officials, aiming to seek a new path to end Russia's war against Ukraine. However, against the backdrop of the attack causing massive civilian casualties, Washington's simultaneous easing of sanctions, and the White House pressuring Kyiv, the message conveyed by these negotiations is self-contradictory.