21 die in strikes on Ukraine amid Aeroflot cyberattack

RTHK

5 days ago

21 die in strikes on Ukraine amid Aeroflot cyberattack
At least four people were killed and eight injured in attacks on Dnipro. Photo: Reuters
Russian glide bombs and missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight, killing at least 21 people, officials said on Tuesday, as Russia kept up its bombardment of civilian areas despite US President Donald Trump's threat to soon punish Russia with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops.
The airstrikes came after a cyberattack on Russian state-owned flagship carrier Aeroflot caused a mass outage to the company's computer systems on Monday, Russia's prosecutor's office said, forcing the airline to cancel more than 100 flights and delay others.
Ukrainian hacker group Silent Crow and Belarusian hacker activist group the Belarus Cyber-Partisans, which opposes the rule of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, claimed responsibility for the cyberattack.
In the Russian airstrikes, a prison in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region was hit, killing at least 17 inmates and wounding more than 80 others, officials said.
In the Dnipro region, authorities reported at least four people were killed and eight injured.
Trump said on Monday he is 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 meant Trump wants peace efforts to make progress by August 7-9.
Trump has repeatedly rebuked Putin for talking about ending the war but continuing to bombard Ukrainian civilians. But the Kremlin hasn't changed its tactics.
The Kremlin pushed back, however, with a top Putin lieutenant warning 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 on social platform X.
'Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.'
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 neutralized by Ukrainian air defenses.
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 hospitalized 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.
In Dnipro, missiles hit the city of Kamianske, partially destroying a three-storey 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 mother-to-be who is now in a serious condition, according to regional head Serhii Lysak. (AP)