Ukrainian national police said Russia targeted residential neighbourhoods with five guided aerial bombs early Saturday morning, hitting two residential buildings. At least ten other people were wounded, according to Mykhailo Semikin, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, who said rescuers were still searching for people under the rubble.
The attack came as Russia and Ukraine remain locked in a long-range aerial war, with armies largely deadlocked on the front line more than four and a half years after Moscow's full-scale invasion. Ukrainian authorities say escalating Russian bombardments have killed more than 55 people over the past four days, including 33 in a bus stop attack on Thursday.
The strikes came a day after President Trump said he had reached a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to obtain diesel from Russia. Mr Trump announced on social media that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November, 1 million tons 'immediately thereafter' and a further 3 million tons 'within a short period of time.' He said the deal was struck in a phone call in which he had been expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia.
The arrangement marks a striking reversal of years of US pressure on Moscow over the war and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections. It also sits in stark contrast to a sweeping Russia sanctions law Mr Trump signed last month, aimed at clamping down on the oil and gas revenues that fuel Russia's war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the deal, saying Russia would repay it 'with further terror and perfidy' and casting it as an investment in a prolonged war. He said it plays into Russia's hands, allowing it to kill more and inflict even greater losses on the world. According to a statement released by the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, Mr Zelenskyy called it 'a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners.'
US-mediated diplomatic efforts to end the war have so far yielded no results. Mr Trump announced the deal as his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were meeting with Ukrainian officials in Miami.