Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Hub Overnight, Hours After Trump's Diesel Deal With Putin
Drones hit the Yug Rusi oil-loading terminal in Rostov-on-Don, setting it ablaze. The attack came hours after President Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia that President Zelensky called "not fair and not honest."
Drones attacked an oil-loading terminal in Rostov-on-Don overnight on Oct. 9-10, setting off a large fire. Footage from local residents showed flames and thick smoke rising from the site.
An OSINT analyst with the independent Russian outlet ASTRA identified the burning facility as the Yug Rusi oil-loading terminal in the city's Zheleznodorozhny district. The terminal handles petroleum products for export, including shipments from the Novoshakhtinsk refinery. The Kyiv Independent said it could not independently verify the footage or the extent of the damage.
Russian regional authorities acknowledged the fire and said air defenses were operating overnight, but did not confirm damage to the terminal. The regional governor said more than 50 drones were shot down and that a railway bridge was damaged, halting train traffic in both directions. Ukrainian military officials had not claimed responsibility.
The attack came hours after President Trump announced a diesel supply deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia will immediately supply 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and another million tons shortly after, according to the Seoul Economic Daily, citing U.S. media. Trump said three million tons would reach the United States and world markets \u201cin a short period of time.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called the agreement “not fair and not honest” and “happy birthday present for Putin.” He said the deal would hand Russia more money to keep funding the war.
Trump had asked Ukraine six times to stop striking Russian refineries, without success, a U.S. official told Axios, according to the Seoul Economic Daily. The official said the strikes were pushing up fuel prices for American consumers and that Zelensky was misreading the room. Zelensky had offered to stop the refinery attacks if Russia halted strikes on Ukrainian power plants, but Trump demanded an end without conditions.
The strikes followed eight hours of talks Friday in Miami between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and a Ukrainian delegation. While the meeting was underway, Trump called Putin and agreed on the diesel deal. Zelensky accused his American partners of using the Ukrainian delegation as a “smokescreen.”
Ukrainian officials have threatened to keep striking Russian oil facilities despite Washington's pleas. The attack came the same morning Russian airstrikes on Zaporizhzhia killed seven people, including three children.
