Russian strikes kill 17 in Zaporizhia as Trump lifts sanctions on Russian diesel

At least 17 people, including three children, were killed in Russian airstrikes on Zaporizhia in Ukraine. A woman called Yano was pulled from her apartment building alive, but her six-year-old daughter was dead beside her. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack was a thank you from President Vladimir Putin after President Donald Trump made a deal to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports to the United States. Zelensky said Russia had thanked the US for lifting sanctions by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings. He added that the night was yet another confirmation that Russia interprets any easing of pressure as a signal that it can continue the war.

Trump announced he was temporarily lifting sanctions on Russian fuel and buying hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel from Putin. He said lower prices for Americans were his greatest priority. The move came three weeks before the midterm elections, with his approval ratings at a record low and Americans angry over the cost of living. Diesel prices have risen sharply since America's war with Iran, despite the US being the world's biggest diesel exporter. Trump said the oil deal with Russia was a big deal and thanked Putin.

The deal undercuts four years of US sanctions against Russia, including new sanctions passed by Congress only last month. Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska, who has decided to retire, said propping up Putin's war economy was morally wrong because Russia uses the money to bomb cities. He called Trump's policies towards Russia and Ukraine failures.

Kurt Volker, a former US ambassador to NATO and US special representative for Ukraine negotiations, said the diesel volumes involved would not affect US prices. He said the October volume was 300,000 tons, about 2.2 million barrels in a month, while the US consumes over 4 million barrels a day and the world consumes 900 million barrels a month. He said the real issue was Trump needing to show voters he was doing something about diesel prices, and that going to Putin made him look weak and desperate. He said Germany and the UK had already said they would stick with sanctions.

Other attacks continued. A medical clinic in Kharkiv was hit, and Ukrainian drones set a Russian oil terminal alight. Trump has so far not agreed to give Ukraine more Patriot missiles to defend itself.