Kyiv (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – According to Ukrainian officials, a Russian defence forces airstrike on a prison in southeastern Ukraine’s frontline region has resulted in 17 deaths and over 30 injuries.
As reported, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the military administration, Russia launched eight strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region in the nighttime and targeting the prison. Ukraine’s justice ministry reported that Moscow’s troops launched four glide bombs at the prison, killing 17 inmates and injuring 42 more, including a detention centre employee.
How much of Zaporizhzhia’s infrastructure is destroyed?
Images released by the ministry show debris and bricks around buildings with exploded windows. The ministry stated the perimeter of the facility was secure and there were no inmates at risk of escape.
Ivan Fedorov said that buildings at the facility in Zaporizhzhia were destroyed, but did not say where that was. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff for the president of Ukraine, labelled the strikes another “war crime” from Russia.
What weapons were used in the latest airstrikes?
Along with the glide bomb attack, the Ukrainian air force said that Russia fired 37 drones and two missiles overnight, and Ukrainian air defence downed 32 of the drones. Regional government officials stated that attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk region also resulted in injuries and fatalities.
Sergiy Lysak, chief of the regional military administration, said via Telegram that a missile attack on Kamyanske led to two fatalities, five injuries, and damage to a hospital.
Was the prison strike a deliberate act by Russia?
In his remarks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that a Russian airstrike on a prison in Ukraine was “not accidental” and that Russia “must be compelled to stop the killing and make peace,” APF reported.
“It was a deliberate strike, intentional, not accidental. The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians in that facility,”
Zelensky stated.
How often has Russia attacked the Zaporizhzhia region?
Since the start of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russian forces have attacked Zaporizhzhia repeatedly. The entire Zaporizhzhia region has endured constant attacks, through drones, missiles, and air bombing, meanwhile, humanizing the calculated systemic destruction of infrastructure.
Reports estimate that 30% to 40% of all Zaporizhzhia city’s infrastructure has been destroyed, comprising civilian areas, important facilities, and most recently, a prison located in the Bilenke village near Zaporizhzhia.
In an equivalent attack, on March 21–22, 2025, Russian forces unleashed a massive wave of drone attacks across many of the regions of Ukraine, and Zaporizhzhia was among the heavily targeted regions. These attacks involved as many as 179 Shahed-type (loitering munition) drones and various decoy drones.
