Zelenskyy says Russia dropped bombs on Zaporizhzhia as 'thanks' for Trump's diesel deal, killing at least 20

From the Newshound archive · first published 10 October 2026 · last updated 11 October 2026.

Five Russian glide bombs struck residential apartment blocks in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday, leaving at least 20 dead — among them three children — and 16 wounded. The attack came hours after Trump announced an agreement to purchase more than 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel. Zelenskyy said Moscow was expressing its "thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports" and warned that every extra billion Russia earns from fuel sales funds more weapons, drones and mercenaries. Russia also sent 160 drones overnight; air defences shot down or neutralised 117 of them, and a separate ballistic missile strike on Kyiv wounded four.

Rescue workers pulled a child's body from rubble after an aerial bomb "completely destroyed the entrance to a three-storey block of flats" in Zaporizhzhia.

Trump said he had concluded a "highly successful discussion" with Putin and that the diesel deal would bring down prices before November's midterm elections — a move that caught Kyiv off guard at the very moment its negotiators were sitting down with counterparts in Miami for peace talks.

Ukraine claims to have obtained Russian documents outlining a new strategy of targeting civilian infrastructure — roads, schools and hospitals — to drive people out of cities.