The deadliest attack occurred at the Bilenke penitentiary in the Zaporizhzhia region, where 16 inmates lost their lives and more than 50 others were injured
By Sodiq Oluwaremilekun
At least 25 people have been killed in overnight and early morning Russian air strikes across Ukraine, with a prison and a hospital among the targets, local officials have said.
The deadliest attack occurred at the Bilenke penitentiary in the Zaporizhzhia region, where 16 inmates lost their lives and more than 50 others were injured.
According to Ukraine’s justice ministry, four glide bombs struck the facility shortly before midnight, destroying the dining hall, administrative offices, and quarantine area. Of the injured, 44 were taken to hospital.
In the north-eastern Kharkiv region, five people were killed when a Russian rocket hit villagers who had gathered near a local shop to collect humanitarian aid in Novoplatonivka.
Another strike in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, hit a hospital and killed three people, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman named Diana.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attacks, saying Russia “must be forced to stop the killings and make peace” through “tough” sanctions. He also praised US President Donald Trump for issuing Moscow an ultimatum to agree to a ceasefire within “10 or 12 days” or face sweeping sanctions.
Russian forces have frequently targeted Zaporizhzhia since the start of the invasion in 2022. Moscow claims to have annexed the region along with three others, though it does not fully control any of them.
Meanwhile, Russia reported that Ukrainian drones targeted its southern Rostov region overnight, killing one person in Salsk and igniting a goods train. Another fatality was recorded in the Belgorod region.
The new wave of attacks came as Moscow said its troops were advancing deeper into Ukrainian territory, claiming to have seized the village of Maliivka, a claim Kyiv denies.
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