Ukraine calls deadly Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia prison 'another war crime'

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

Russian glide bombs and missiles have struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight, killing at least 21 people, Ukrainian officials say.
The Russian bombardment of civilian areas comes despite US President Donald Trump's threat to soon punish Russia with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops.
A Russian air strike on a prison in Ukraine's south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 others, officials said.
In the Dnipro region, authorities reported at least four people were killed and eight injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, condemned the strikes as "another war crime" committed by Russia.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's regime, which also issues threats against the United States through some of its mouthpieces, must face economic and military blows that strip it of the capacity to wage war," Mr Yermak said on X.
Mr Trump said on Monday he was giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to stop the killing in Ukraine after three years of war, moving up a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago.
The move means Mr Trump wants peace efforts to make progress by August 7 to 9.
Mr Trump has repeatedly rebuked Mr Putin for talking about ending the war but continuing to bombard Ukrainian civilians.
But the Kremlin has not changed its tactics.
"I'm disappointed in President Putin," Mr Trump said during a visit to Scotland.
The Kremlin pushed back, however, with a top Putin lieutenant warning Mr Trump against "playing the ultimatum game with Russia".
"Russia isn't Israel or even Iran," former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy head of the country's Security Council, wrote online.
"Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country."
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour, the Kremlin has warned Kyiv's Western backers that their involvement could end up broadening the war to NATO countries.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles along with 37 Shahed-type strike drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight.
They say 32 Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralised by Ukrainian air defences.
The Russian attack close to midnight on Monday hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility with four guided aerial bombs, according to the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine.
At least 42 inmates were hospitalised with serious injuries, while another 40 people, including one staff member, sustained various injuries.
The strike destroyed the prison's dining hall, damaged administrative and quarantine buildings, but the perimeter fence held and no escapes were reported, authorities said.
Ukrainian officials condemned the attack, saying targeting civilian infrastructure, such as prisons, was a war crime under international conventions.
In Dnipro, missiles hit the city of Kamianske, partially destroying a three-story building and damaging nearby medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and a city hospital ward.
Two people were killed and five were wounded, including a pregnant woman who is now in a serious condition, according to regional head Serhii Lysak.
Further Russian attacks hit communities in Synelnykivskyi district with FPV drones and aerial bombs, killing at least one person and injuring two others.
According to Lysak, Russian forces also targeted the community of Velykomykhailivska, killing a 75-year-old woman and injuring a 68-year-old man.
AP