ZAPORIZHZHIA – A Russian airstrike on a prison facility in southeastern Ukraine has killed 17 people and injured 42 others, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday. The strike hit the Bilenke correctional center in Zaporizhzhia, one of the regions Russia claims to have annexed but remains mostly under Ukrainian control. Ukrainian authorities said four aerial glide bombs struck key areas of the prison, destroying the dining block, quarantine zone, and administrative offices. Footage from the site showed blown-out windows, mangled walls, and debris scattered across the prison grounds. “All those killed and wounded were incarcerated individuals,” Ukraine’s Justice Ministry confirmed in a statement.
Ivan Fedorov, the regional governor, said eight bombs were launched in total, with surrounding homes and infrastructure also damaged in the overnight assault.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, calling it a “deliberate strike” by Moscow against a civilian site. “Seventeen Ukrainians are dead tonight in a place they could never flee,” he said. “This war could have ended long ago if Russia had chosen peace.” Ukraine’s human rights commissioner said the targeting of a detention center violates international humanitarian law, emphasizing that those in custody still hold the right to protection under wartime protocols.
The Zaporizhzhia prison strike is the latest in a series of deadly Russian attacks against civilian infrastructure. Late Monday, two people were killed and five wounded in a separate missile and drone assault on Kamyanske in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another elderly woman was killed when her home was struck in a nearby village. In total, four people died in that region in a single night.
The wave of violence comes as Russian forces continue advancing into Ukraine’s eastern front. On Saturday, Moscow claimed control of Maliyevka village, although Kyiv rejected the report as false.
In a parallel escalation, Ukraine launched drone attacks overnight in southern Russia. One man was killed in his car in Salsk, Rostov region, after drones hit the area. In Belgorod, another man died in a separate strike, and his wife was seriously injured. Authorities said a freight train caught fire during the overnight raid.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a renewed ultimatum to the Kremlin, warning that Russia has “10 or 12 days” to agree to a ceasefire or face sweeping economic sanctions. Speaking in Scotland, Trump said, “There’s no reason to wait if you already know what the right decision is.”
President Zelensky welcomed the remarks, saying, “Those are very important words. Russia continues to waste the world’s time while Ukrainians pay the price.”
As of Tuesday, no ceasefire agreement is in place, and both sides continue to exchange fire across multiple fronts, with growing civilian casualties and further destruction marking another grim chapter in the conflict.
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