Russian strike hits Ukrainian prison, killing at least 17

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian airstrike on a prison in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 others, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.

In the Dnipro region, authorities reported at least four people killed and eight injured.

Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles along with 37 Shahed-type strike drones and decoy UAVs. They say 32 Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralized by Ukrainian air defenses.

The attack late Monday hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Colony 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.

Ukrainian officials condemned the attack, saying that targeting civilian infrastructure, such as prisons, is 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.