The Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia was struck this Saturday morning by five Russian glide bombs, killing at least 15 people, including three children, officials say.
The glide bombs hit residential buildings in the south‑eastern city. Sixteen other people were wounded, and several remain missing, believed to be trapped under rubble. Acting mayor Regina Kharchenko, speaking from the front line, described the ground floor hit and the floors above collapsing, calling the strike an attack on ‘our heart’ and mourning the loss of children as an awful grief for families and the city.
Prior to the strike, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 13 other regions had also been hit overnight, warning that Ukrainian responses would follow the nightly raids.
The assault came hours after President Donald Trump announced a U.S. diesel import deal with Russia, a move Zelensky has denounced as a gift to President Vladimir Putin that extends the war.
Zelensky has said that Russia interprets any easing of pressure as a signal it can continue the war. He has called for a halt to the conflict, stressing that Russia must feel its losses if a pause is to occur.
Zaporizhzhia, home to over 700,000 people and located less than 16 kilometres from the frontline, is a key regional centre that frequently suffers from Russian drones, missiles and glide‑bomb attacks.
Meanwhile, other Ukrainian cities have experienced deadly attacks: a glide‑bomb strike on two civilian buses in Kramatorsk killed 33 people, and a missile hit in Pryluky claimed 22 lives, including five children. According to the UN, civilian casualties in Ukraine jumped by 55% in the first eight months of 2026.
Russia has also expanded attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, particularly during winter, while Ukraine has struck Russian data centres owned by Yandex. Both sides are intensifying their strikes, raising the overall toll on civilians across the country.
