Zaporizhzhia: 20 dead in Russian glide-bomb strike, missiles hit Kyiv after US eases diesel sanctions

At least 20 people, among them 3 children, were killed in Zaporizhzhia in a Russian air strike with guided bombs, according to the latest update from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS) on the afternoon of Saturday, October 10. Another 18 people were injured, including 3 children. Rescuers freed 3 people from the rubble and the work continues.

The DSNS said in a post on X that the number of dead had risen to 20, 3 of them children, and that another 18 were injured, 3 of them children (the post is in Ukrainian):

DSNS update on X, October 10, 2026

In the morning the DSNS had counted 15 dead. The same service published footage of a woman pulled alive from the rubble after more than 8 hours of searching.

Zelensky: “Russia expressed its thanks for the diesel”

Volodymyr Zelensky directly linked the strike to the US decision to allow Russian diesel exports. “Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” he wrote on X. “As of now, sadly, twelve people have been confirmed killed, including three children.” He said that during the night 13 regions came under attack, with damage to homes, infrastructure and railways.

Zelensky’s post on X, October 10, 2026

Washington’s decision came after the Trump–Putin phone call of October 9, when the US Treasury issued a temporary general license for the sale of Russian diesel on the global market.

Missiles on Kyiv

In Kyiv, loud explosions were heard at around 2:00 p.m. local time as Russia launched missiles after a morning drone attack on energy infrastructure, according to the Kyiv Independent. In the Obolon district, 5 people were injured, one seriously, according to the DSNS, and three fires broke out in wooden structures and on a plot of land; by 5 p.m. Mayor Vitali Klitschko put the number of injured at seven, three of them in serious condition. There were power and water outages and problems on the metro. Reports said Kharkiv was also hit, with a health facility building damaged and 5 people injured.

The Ukrainian Air Force said that overnight Russia launched 160 drones, 110 of them jet-powered drones and Gerbera drones. On October 7, a Russian cruise missile killed at least 20 people in Pryluky.

The European Commission’s reaction

The European Commission kept its distance from the American decision. A Commission spokesperson said, in the wording reported by Greek public broadcaster ERT, that Europe knows very well the hidden costs of dependence on Russian fuels and does not want to fuel the war against Ukraine, stressing that the EU is continuing the gradual phase-out of Russian fossil fuels. Brussels’ divergence from Washington comes as a European delegation takes part in the Ukraine peace talks and as Kyiv asks its allies for stronger air defence against massed Russian drone and missile attacks.