A Russian airstrike late Monday targeted the Bilenkivska Correctional Colony in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, killing at least 17 inmates and injuring over 80, Ukrainian authorities reported. The State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine stated that four guided aerial bombs struck the facility, destroying the dining hall and damaging administrative and quarantine buildings. Despite the devastation, the perimeter fence remained intact, preventing any escapes.

Of the injured, 42 inmates were hospitalized with serious wounds, while 40 others, including one staff member, sustained various injuries. Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov noted eight Russian strikes on the district that night, using high-explosive bombs, which also damaged nearby private homes. Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, condemned the attack as a war crime, citing international conventions that prohibit targeting civilian infrastructure like prisons. Yermak called for economic and military measures to curb Russia’s capacity to wage war.

The attack coincides with broader Russian assaults, including two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 37 Shahed-type drones, with 32 drones neutralized by Ukrainian defenses, per Ukraine’s Air Force. In Dnipro, four civilians were killed and eight injured, with missiles damaging a maternity hospital and other facilities. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the prison strike as a potential war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute, noting Russia’s pattern of targeting civilian sites, as seen in the 2022 Olenivka prison attack that killed 53 Ukrainian POWs.

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Russia, which partially occupies Zaporizhzhia, offered no immediate comment. The region, home to Europe’s largest nuclear plant, has faced frequent attacks since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, documenting 39,347 alleged Russian war crimes as of October 2024, emphasized the growing civilian toll from glide bombs, with Zaporizhzhia seeing a 78% casualty spike since September 2024.

[Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, The Hindu, Winnipeg Free Press, UN HRMMU]

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