"Millions, Billions": Zelensky Warns Russian Fuel Sales Could Fund the War

Russian strikes killed at least 17 people in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian officials said, a day after Washington eased restrictions on Russian diesel sales that Kyiv says could finance the war. ^{[1] [2]}

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said aerial bombs hit residential buildings on October 10, killing three children among the 17 dead. At least 18 people were wounded, according to the Ukrainian official account. ^[1]

Missiles also struck Kyiv in a daytime attack. Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said four people were wounded in the capital, adding a second city to the day's reported casualties as Ukraine faced continued bombardment far from the front line. ^[1]

The attacks followed US President Donald Trump's October 9 announcement, after a discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that Russia would supply diesel to US and global markets. Washington presented cheaper fuel as the aim. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the sales could provide money for Russia's war effort. ^[2]

The Daily Inference reported earlier on October 10 on Zelensky's objections to the arrangement. He called it a "weak decision" and said Russian fuel sales could send "millions, billions" to the war against Ukraine. The new casualty reports put civilian deaths alongside that dispute over Russian export revenue. ^[2]

This is a developing account. The attack details and casualty figures come from Ukrainian officials and have not been independently confirmed in the reporting reviewed. That reporting includes no Russian response to the strikes, independent confirmation of Trump's supply schedule or measured estimate of the revenue Russia would receive. ^{[1] [2]}

Bombs on residential buildings

The reported deaths in Zaporizhzhia made it the centre of the day's toll. The Kyiv attack involved missiles, according to the report carrying Klitschko's account. ^[1]

The October 10 attacks followed several days of heavy losses. Ukrainian authorities had reported more than 60 people killed in Russian bombardments over the preceding four days, according to the Associated Press report republished by the South China Morning Post. ^[1]

That report described Russian and Ukrainian forces as fighting a long-range aerial war while their armies remained largely deadlocked on the front line. The attacks on Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv fit that reported pattern of destruction beyond the ground fighting. ^[1]

The result is a war in which a largely stalled front offers little protection to people in residential areas.

A legal opening for Russian fuel

Washington's action gave specified Russian diesel transactions a temporary route through US sanctions. The Treasury authorization covers sale, delivery, offloading and importation of Russian-origin diesel through April 7, 2027, according to MercoPress. It does not permit debits to certain Russian sovereign accounts at US financial institutions. ^[2]

The exemption allows sellers, shippers and buyers to undertake the specified diesel business within its limits. The permission itself does not establish that the fuel has been delivered. ^[2]

Trump said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tonnes immediately and 500,000 tonnes in November. He also described later supplies of one million tonnes and a further three million tonnes within a short period, depending on refinery conditions. Those volumes were his announced schedule. ^[2]

The refinery condition is part of the supply problem. MercoPress reported that Russia had suspended diesel exports after Ukrainian drone attacks damaged its refineries, and that the suspension was due to expire at the end of October. ^[2]

Ukraine's attacks on refineries and Washington's authorization therefore pull in opposing economic directions. One disrupts Russia's ability to export fuel. The other permits specified trade in that fuel. How much money reaches Russia will depend on the transactions that actually occur.

Zelensky also called the arrangement "dishonest" and said Ukraine's negotiating team was being used as a "smokescreen". His objection was that the fuel deal could benefit the country attacking Ukraine while talks continued. ^[2]

Putin's investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, said energy cooperation between Russia and the United States would continue and would benefit global markets. His statement supported the broader cooperation, while Trump's announcement supplied the shipment figures. ^[2]

Lower prices, continued bombardment

Trump said the diesel arrangement was intended to bring down fuel prices. MercoPress put US diesel prices at $6.27 a gallon on October 9 and reported that diesel futures fell 4.3% after the announcement. A futures-price move measures the market's response to the announcement, rather than fuel already reaching a buyer. ^[2]

The report attributed fuel-price pressure to the war involving Iran and disruption to supplies. It also said the G7 had agreed a week earlier to release 100 million barrels from strategic reserves, placing the Russian diesel arrangement alongside another effort to ease the supply squeeze. ^[2]

Washington is pursuing cheaper fuel while Kyiv warns of additional income for Russia. The next concrete steps are deliveries under Trump's announced arrangement and the scheduled end of Russia's diesel export suspension in late October. The US authorization, unless changed, runs through April 7, 2027. ^[2]