A Russian aerial assault on a prison facility in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region has left 17 inmates dead and 42 others wounded, Ukrainian officials reported Tuesday. The overnight attack, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as a “deliberate strike,” also damaged nearby residential buildings.
Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian forces used eight high-explosive aerial glide bombs in the strike on the Bilenke penitentiary.
According to Ukraine’s justice ministry, the bombs destroyed the prison’s dining hall, administrative building, and quarantine area, with all casualties among those incarcerated.
“This was not an accident,” President Zelensky said. “This was a deliberate strike on civilians who had no way to escape. A ceasefire could have prevented this long ago.” He condemned the targeting of detainees as a clear violation of humanitarian law.
Russia has frequently targeted the Zaporizhzhia region, one of four Ukrainian territories it claims to have annexed in 2022. However, much of the region, including the area where the prison is located, remains under Ukrainian control.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner said the strike on a correctional facility amounted to a war crime, as people in custody retain their right to life and protection under international law.
The attack comes amid renewed diplomatic pressure on Moscow. US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Russia during a visit to Scotland, stating that the Kremlin had “10 to 12 days” to agree to a ceasefire or face sweeping sanctions. “There’s no reason to wait if you know what the answer is,” Trump told reporters. Zelensky welcomed the ultimatum, calling it a “very important message” to the world.
Earlier this month, Trump had given Russia a 50-day deadline to reach a truce with Kyiv, though the intensified airstrikes suggest the warning has gone unheeded.
In addition to overnight violence, Russian missile and drone attacks struck multiple targets in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Two people were killed and five injured in an industrial strike on the city of Kamyanske, while a separate attack in Synelnykivsky district killed one person and injured several more. In a rural village, a 75-year-old woman died and a 68-year-old man was wounded when their home was hit.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed further advances in the Dnipropetrovsk region, stating it had taken control of the village of Maliyevka. Ukrainian officials, however, rejected the assertion as misinformation.
On the other side of the border, Russian authorities reported overnight Ukrainian drone strikes in the southern Rostov region, which killed one person in Salsk and set a freight train ablaze. Another civilian was killed in Belgorod, and his wife was wounded in the same attack.