KYIV, Ukraine: Russian strikes killed at least 12 people in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday, a day after US President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel that Kyiv warned would help bankroll Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Three children were among those killed when Russian aerial bombs hit residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, Zelensky said Saturday. At least 14 people were wounded in the attack.
Russia and Ukraine are locked in a long-range aerial war while their armies remain largely deadlocked on the front line, more than 4 1/2 years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine is struggling to counter escalating Russian bombardments that have killed more than 60 people over the past four days.
Trump said Friday he had struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of US pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections.
What allowing Russia to sell oil products means was heard most clearly in Kyiv just now, when, after repeated attacks on energy facilities with jet-powered “shaheds,” Russia launched a ballistic missile attack as well. Some of the missiles were intercepted. This once again clearly demonstrates Russia’s true intentions. They count on prolonging the war, terrorizing ordinary people, and destroying infrastructure.
Every additional billion dollars they can earn from exports will be spent on nothing but sourcing and importing critical components and equipment to manufacture weapons, upgrading “shaheds,” producing missiles, and recruiting even more mercenaries to fight at the front. Russia’s choice is war. And they will be ready to end it only when they feel that their ability to drag the war out is diminishing.
Unfortunately, the signals Russia received yesterday were entirely different – signals suggesting that it could simply keep attacking. And this needs to be corrected. Strong signals are needed from the United States, Europe, and other partners – signals in support of Ukraine and to RESTRICT Russia’s ability to wage war and terrorize people. Thank you to everyone who stands with Ukraine!
“Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelensky wrote Saturday on X.
He said the attacks show Moscow understands “any easing of pressure to mean they can keep fighting, to mean they can keep dropping bombs on cities,” adding that “different signals are needed.”
Trump was set to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia with President Vladimir Putin in a phone call.
Instead, the American leader announced Friday that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote.
Trump’s shocking announcement was in stark contrast to a sweeping Russia sanctions law he signed last month that aimed at clamping down on the oil and gas revenues that fuel Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In a lengthy post online reacting to the deal on Friday, Zelensky said Russia would repay it “with further terror and perfidy.” He framed it as an investment in the war that could prolong it.
“It plays into Russia’s hands — allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world,” he said.
According to a statement released by the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, Zelensky called it “a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners.”
Trump announced the deal as his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian officials in Miami to discuss a proposal to end the war.
“I believe our team is simply being used as a smoke screen. And that is certainly not fair. It is certainly not how partners should treat each other,” Zelensky said.
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