Russian glide bombs kill 20 in Zaporizhzhia a day after the U.S. suspended Russian diesel sanctions; Putin tells Trump talks won't resume soon

AXIOS

Treasury's General License 135 lets Russian diesel be sold, including into the U.S., until April 7, 2027, with no volume cap and no ceasefire condition.

Five Russian glide bombs hit apartment blocks in Zaporizhzhia, a southeastern Ukrainian city of about 700,000, early Saturday, Oct. 10, killing 20, including three children, per Reuters; regional official Ivan Fedorov put the wounded at 32. Zelensky called it Moscow's "thanks" for the diesel deal Trump announced hours earlier. It was Russia's third mass-casualty strike in a week (Reuters).

The talks. The "no talks right away" line predates the bombing. On their Friday, Oct. 9, call, Putin told Trump talks can't resume immediately, blaming Ukraine's Sept. 20 drone attack on Moscow during Russian elections, per Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov (Al Jazeera).

The deal. Trump says Russia will ship more than 300,000 tons of diesel now, 500,000 tons in November, 1 million tons "immediately thereafter" and 3 million more "within a short period," depending on its refineries: 4.8 million tons in all (AP, BBC). General License 135, a Treasury waiver exempting traders from sanctions, covers the sale and import of Russian diesel until April 7, 2027. It sets no cap and no conditions on Russia's war; it only blocks payments from U.S. accounts of Russia's central bank, wealth fund and finance ministry. AP says it is the first such waiver since 2022 to run past 30 days.

The real number. The first tranche is about 2.25 million barrels; the U.S. burns about 3.8 million barrels of diesel a day, per an analyst quoted by the BBC. At that rate all 4.8 million tons cover under 10 days of U.S. use, and not all of it is U.S.-bound. Russia, which has barred its own diesel exports since July, says it will lift that ban early (AP).

Still open. The White House hasn't said what Russia gets in return, who pays, or whether November cargoes land before the Nov. 3 midterms (AP, BBC). TASS, citing one source, says Witkoff and Kushner may visit Moscow within two weeks.