Russian Glide Bomb Strike on Zaporizhzhia Kills at Least 20, Including Four Children

At least 20 individuals, including four children, were killed and 32 others injured when Russian glide bombs struck residential buildings in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday morning. Local authorities report that several people remain missing and are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble of a destroyed apartment block.

Acting Mayor Regina Harchenko told Ukrainian television that the bombing hit the ground floor, causing the upper levels to collapse. She described the incident as an attack on the city’s heart, noting that rescuers are conducting search and rescue operations with more than 80 workers involved. Teams frequently pause to listen for sounds from survivors still under the debris.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky linked the attack to a deal announced the previous night by US President Donald Trump, which eases sanctions on Moscow to allow imports of Russian diesel. Zelensky stated that Russia viewed the sanction relief as permission to escalate hostilities, noting that 13 other regions came under fire overnight alongside the strike on Zaporizhzhia.

“Russia’s choice is war,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “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.”

Zaporizhzhia, home to more than 700,000 residents, is located less than 10 miles from the front line and has been frequently targeted by Russian drones and missiles. Analysts suggest Trump’s diesel deal was an attempt to address domestic concerns over high fuel prices ahead of midterm elections, a move Zelensky criticized as a gift to President Vladimir Putin.

The attack adds to a rising toll on Ukrainian civilians. In early October, 33 people were killed in a separate glide bomb strike on civilian buses in Kramatorsk, and 22 people died when a missile hit an apartment block in Pryluky. According to the UN, civilian casualties in Ukraine rose by 55% in the first eight months of this year.

As winter approaches, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, a pattern seen in previous years. In response, Ukraine has increasingly targeted critical economic infrastructure deep inside Russia, including oil refineries and terminals. Recent strikes on data centers owned by tech giant Yandex have disrupted services, with Kyiv stating these actions aim to cut off revenue streams funding the war.