Russian Glide Bomb Attack Kills at Least 15 in Zaporizhzhia; Zelensky Criticizes Trump

A Russian glide bomb attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 15 people on Saturday morning, including three children, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky and emergency services.

The strike hit residential buildings in the southeastern city, injuring at least 16 others. Rescue operations continued throughout the day, with authorities listening for survivors believed to be trapped under the rubble of a largely destroyed apartment block.

"The ground floor was hit, and the floors above just collapsed," acting Mayor Regina Kharchenko said, describing the scene. She added that Russia had struck "our very heart" and that the deaths of children were "awful grief for their families. For the city."

Zelensky stated that 13 other regions were also hit overnight and vowed that "Our responses to [these] Russian strikes will come." He also criticized a recent deal for the U.S. to import Russian diesel, calling it a "gift to President Vladimir Putin" that amounts to "an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged."

"Russia interprets any easing of pressure as a signal that it can supposedly continue the war," Zelensky wrote on X. "Russia must understand that the war needs to be stopped, and for that, it must feel its losses."

Zaporizhzhia, a regional center with over 700,000 residents, is located less than 10 miles from the front line and is frequently targeted by Russian forces. The city has experienced a sharp increase in civilian casualties from Russian attacks in recent months.

This latest strike follows other significant attacks, including one on Thursday that killed at least 33 people when glide bombs hit two civilian buses in Kramatorsk, in the eastern Donetsk region. The day prior, a Russian missile struck an apartment block in Pryluky, east of Kyiv, killing 22 people, including five children.

According to the UN, civilian casualties in Ukraine jumped by 55% in the first eight months of the current year. Russia has also targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure with increased attacks each winter since its full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine, in turn, has attacked Russian infrastructure, including recent strikes on data centers owned by the tech giant Yandex.