Destroyed prison building and emergency crews responding after Russian airstrike in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
At least 21 fatalities, including dozens of injured individuals, have been reported in Ukraine following Russian airstrikes on a prison and civilian infrastructure on Monday evening. Russia persists with its attacks on non-military targets despite mounting global pressure, even after a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump.
In Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian missile attack hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility with four guided air bombs, officials reported. The explosion killed 17 prisoners and wounded over 80 others.
Authorities confirmed that 42 of the wounded were hospitalized in critical condition, and 40 others, including one prison employee, received various types of injuries.
The dining hall in the prison was fully destroyed, and the administrative block as well as the quarantine block were badly damaged. The perimeter fence was left intact, and no prisoners escaped.
The incident was condemned by the Ukrainian authorities, saying the attack on prisons and civilian buildings is a breach of international law.
Russian missiles hit the Kamianske city in Ukraine's Dnipro region. The strike killed at least two individuals and injured five, including a pregnant woman who is now critical. The attack tore down a three-story apartment building and several healthcare centers, including a maternity hospital and hospital ward.
Additional attacks were on Synelnykivskyi district, where drones attacks and bombs killed one and injured two others. A 75-year-old woman lost her life and a 68-year-old man was injured in the Velykomykhailivska community, as reported by local official Serhii Lysak.
Amid growing concern over Russia’s continued aggression, former U.S. President Donald Trump has moved up his deadline for Moscow to halt attacks.
Speaking from Scotland, Trump said, “I’m disappointed in President Putin,” and warned that Russia must stop the killings within 10 to 12 days earlier than the original 50-day timeframe.
He demanded peace initiatives make tangible progress by August 7–9 and blamed Putin for making peace assurances while still attacking civilians.
The Russian authorities brushed aside Trump's ultimatum. Dmitry Medvedev, the former president and deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, cautioned, "Russia isn't Israel or even Iran."
Every new ultimatum is a threat and a move towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own nation," Medvedev posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The Institute for the Study of War, an American think tank, said on Monday that Russia continues to present the war as a direct clash with the West. "Kremlin officials continue to characterize Russia as being in direct geopolitical confrontation with the West in order to create domestic support for the war in Ukraine and future Russian aggression against NATO," the organization said.
Ukraine's air force said that overnight, Russia fired 37 Shahed-type drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles with decoys to disguise the true targets. Ukrainian defenses killed or destroyed 32 of the drones.
