(The Turkish Post) – Russian guided bombs hit apartment blocks in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Saturday, Oct. 10, killing at least 15 people, including three children, Ukrainian authorities said. The attack came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that eases sanctions on Moscow.
The State Emergency Service said 16 people were wounded. Rescuers were still clearing rubble and searching for people trapped under damaged buildings on Saturday afternoon, and authorities declared Sunday, Oct. 11, a day of mourning in Zaporizhzhia.
Five guided bombs hit Zaporizhzhia
The bombs struck at around 4:48 a.m. local time. Ukrainian police said Russian forces dropped five guided aerial bombs on residential areas of the city, two of which hit apartment buildings.
The toll rose through the morning as rescue teams reached the debris. Regional officials first reported four dead, then eight, before the emergency service and prosecutors put the figure at 15.
The strike on Zaporizhzhia was part of a wider overnight attack. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 160 drones starting on Friday evening and that air defenses had shot down or jammed 117 of them by 9 a.m. on Saturday. Hits were recorded at 14 locations across the country.
The Energy Ministry said on Friday that parts of Kyiv and seven regions, including Zaporizhzhia, were still without electricity after earlier Russian strikes on the power grid.
Zelensky ties the attack to the diesel deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the bombing of Zaporizhzhia was Russia’s way of giving thanks for the lifting of sanctions on its diesel exports.
On Friday he wrote that “gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world.” In an interview the same day, he called Washington’s decision “not fair and not honest.”
Trump said on Friday that, after a phone call with Putin, Russia would “immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel” to U.S. and global markets, with a further 500,000 tons to follow in November. He said 1 million tons would follow “immediately thereafter” and another 3 million tons depending on the condition of Russian refineries, about 4.8 million tons in all.
The Treasury Department issued a temporary license that covers the trade until April 2027. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow was “immediately starting to lift restrictions on diesel exports ahead of schedule.”
The diesel deal comes as fuel prices rise in the United States ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Germany said it would keep its own sanctions in place. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said Berlin was working with European partners on new measures against Russia and that its support for Ukraine was unchanged.
Kremlin cool on new peace talks
The Kremlin said Putin told Trump during the call that Kyiv had undermined an immediate return to three-way peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States by attacking Moscow with drones.
Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders would consider when those negotiations could resume. He said they also discussed possible supplies of Russian fuel.
Western officials meet in Miami
Also on Friday, U.S., Ukrainian and European officials met in Miami to work on a joint proposal to end the war. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said the meeting brought together “the E3, the European Commission, Ukraine and NATO,” referring to Britain, France and Germany.
Witkoff described “constructive discussions” on “potential avenues to de-escalate and conclude the war with Russia ahead of winter.” He said the talks covered energy resilience, grain exports, security guarantees, reconstruction and Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union.
Türkiye hosted three rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul in 2025. The meetings produced large prisoner exchanges but no ceasefire.
