by Koffi Oppong Kyekyeku, Face2FaceAfrica.com
A photo captures the aftermath of a Russian bomb strike on a prison in Bilenke, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, where at least 17 inmates were killed on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. – Photo Credit: Ukraine’s State Criminal Executive Service via AP
Russia launched a wave of deadly overnight strikes on Ukraine, targeting a prison facility and civilian infrastructure in what Ukrainian officials condemned as deliberate attacks on non-military sites. At least 27 people were killed across the country, including a pregnant woman, while dozens more were injured.
Four Russian glide bombs hit a prison in the Zaporizhzhia region, killing 16 inmates and injuring over 90 others, Ukraine’s Justice Ministry said Tuesday. The State Criminal Executive Service confirmed the attack on the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility, noting the destruction of the dining hall and extensive damage to administrative buildings. Though the perimeter fence held and no prisoners escaped, at least 42 inmates suffered serious injuries and 40 others, including one prison staff member, sustained wounds.
“These were conscious, deliberate strikes — not accidental,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram, stating that 73 towns and villages had come under attack.
In central Ukraine’s Dnipro region, missiles reportedly tore through a three-story building and damaged nearby health centers, including a maternity ward and a city hospital. Authorities confirmed five deaths in the region, three from the missile strikes, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman, and two others killed elsewhere. A grocery store in the Kharkiv region was also struck, killing five civilians and wounding three more, while Kherson reported one death and three injuries in the past 24 hours.
Glide bombs, retrofitted Soviet-era munitions equipped with fins and guidance systems, have become one of Russia’s preferred tools for devastation. Capable of carrying up to 3,000 kilograms of explosives, they’ve been used extensively across eastern Ukraine to pummel urban areas and defensive positions.
The prison bombing came exactly three years after an explosion at Olenivka detention facility in Russian-occupied Donetsk killed more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for that 2022 attack, but an internal U.N. analysis obtained by the Associated Press, along with survivor testimony, pointed to Russian culpability.
As the death toll mounts, political tensions are rising internationally. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday gave Russian President Vladimir Putin an ultimatum: halt the killings within 10 to 12 days or face sanctions and tariffs. The new deadline, pushed up from a previous 50-day window, sets August 7–9 as the moment for concrete de-escalation efforts.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said during a visit to Scotland. “He keeps talking about ending the war, but continues to bomb civilians.”
Trump’s warning prompted a response. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that while Russia noted Trump’s comments, it remained committed to achieving its military objectives. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, issued a sharper rebuke, cautioning against Western ultimatums.
“Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran,” Medvedev wrote on X. “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.”
Zelenskyy welcomed Trump’s shortened deadline. “Everyone needs peace — Ukraine, Europe, the United States and responsible leaders across the globe,” he wrote on Telegram. “Everyone except Russia.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military reported that Russia launched 37 Shahed-type drones, decoys, and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles overnight. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 32 of the drones. In retaliation, Ukraine continues to target Russian oil depots, arms factories, and transportation lines using long-range drones of its own.