Kyiv, Ukraine — In one of the deadliest attacks on civilian infrastructure this month, Russian airstrikes killed at least 21 people and injured dozens more after glide bombs and missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a maternity hospital overnight, Ukrainian officials confirmed Tuesday.
The most devastating blow came in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, where four guided aerial bombs hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility at midnight. The blast killed at least 17 detainees and wounded over 80 others, including prison staff. Officials said 42 of the wounded inmates have been hospitalized with critical injuries. The strike destroyed key prison infrastructure, including the dining hall, quarantine blocks, and administrative offices. No escapes were reported, but authorities warned the conditions remain unstable.
Elsewhere, in the Dnipro region, missiles slammed into the city of Kamianske, damaging a municipal hospital ward, a maternity facility, and a residential building. At least four people were killed and eight injured in the area, including a pregnant woman who is now in critical condition. Additional strikes across the Synelnykivskyi and Velykomykhailivska districts left three more civilians dead, including a 75-year-old woman, and several others wounded, according to Dnipro regional head Serhii Lysak.
“These attacks are deliberate, ruthless, and aimed at breaking our civilian spirit,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. “Striking a jail and a maternity hospital in one night—Russia is crossing every red line.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, currently in Scotland, expressed outrage, stating he is “disappointed in President Putin” and warned of harsh sanctions and tariffs unless Russia halts attacks on civilian areas. “Putin has 10 to 12 days to stop the bloodshed,” Trump declared on Monday, extending his earlier 50-day ultimatum. He added that he expects negotiations to move forward between August 7–9.
The Kremlin, however, has remained defiant. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Security Council, warned Trump on X (formerly Twitter): “Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. Every new directive is a warning and a step closer to conflict—with his own country.”
Russian officials maintain they are targeting military infrastructure, but international observers, including the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, argue otherwise. “The Kremlin is deliberately framing its war as a direct confrontation with the West to garner internal support and justify further aggression,” the think tank said in a statement Monday night.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia used 37 Iranian-made Shahed drones, decoys, and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles in its overnight offensive. Ukrainian defenses intercepted 32 of the Shahed drones, but could not stop the heavier munitions that struck deep inside civilian zones.
Ukraine’s State Criminal Executive Service condemned the attack on the Bilenkivska prison as a war crime. “Targeting a correctional facility holding unarmed detainees and non-combatants violates every international humanitarian standard,” the agency said.
As tensions escalate, the conflict’s scope continues to broaden. Ukrainian officials are calling for immediate global condemnation and stronger defensive support, fearing that Russia’s unchecked bombardment may soon expand to neighboring NATO states.
In a war that has entered its fourth year, the civilian toll is becoming increasingly grim—and as the recent attacks show, no place in Ukraine is truly safe.
