Kyiv
At least 17 inmates were killed and over 80 others injured after a Russian airstrike targeted the Bilenkivska Correctional Colony in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region late Monday, Ukrainian officials confirmed.
According to the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine, the prison was struck by four guided aerial bombs. The attack destroyed the facility’s dining hall and severely damaged the administrative and quarantine blocks. While the outer perimeter fence remained intact, preventing any escapes, authorities reported that 42 inmates suffered serious injuries, and 40 others, including one prison staff member, were also wounded. Ukraine’s Air Force stated that Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 37 Shahed-type strike drones, and decoy UAVs during the assault. Of these, 32 Shahed drones were intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses.
Officials strongly condemned the attack, labeling it a war crime under international law, as it deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure. Elsewhere, in the Dnipro region, missiles hit the city of Kamianske, destroying part of a three-story building and damaging medical facilities, including a maternity ward. Two people were killed and five injured, including a pregnant woman in critical condition.
Further attacks in Synelnykivskyi district and Velykomykhailivska community killed at least three more people, including a 75-year-old woman, and injured several others. Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Andriy Yermak emphasized the need for stronger international action against Russia, urging both economic and military responses to halt further aggression. The incident marks one of the deadliest strikes on a prison facility since the start of the war.