Russian airstrikes on southeastern Ukraine killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens more, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest 24-hour periods in weeks. The strikes came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump declared he would give Moscow "10 or 12 days" to agree to a ceasefire or face severe sanctions.
Sixteen people were killed and 42 injured in a targeted overnight bombing of a prison in the front-line Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The Ukrainian Justice Ministry stated that four high-explosive bombs destroyed the dining hall, administrative headquarters, and quarantine area of the Bilenke penitentiary.
"The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians in that facility," Zelensky wrote on X. He described the strike as "deliberate," adding that the victims were all inmates. "Some dead, some alive, some without legs-half of them burned," said prisoner Yaroslav Samarskiy, 54. "People were screaming, moaning."
Regional leader Ivan Fedorov said the airstrike also damaged surrounding homes and involved at least eight Russian glide bombs. Russia, which denies targeting civilians, has intensified its aerial campaign as it pushes deeper along the front lines in Ukraine's east and southeast. Ukrainian forces reported that Russia has now captured the village of Maliyevka in Dnipropetrovsk, a claim Kyiv has disputed.
Meanwhile, a separate Russian missile strike on a hospital in Dnipropetrovsk killed a pregnant 23-year-old woman and two others, Zelensky said. A 75-year-old woman was also killed in a rural village strike, and a humanitarian aid center in Kharkiv was hit Tuesday morning, killing five people, according to Ukrainian police.
Zelensky condemned what he called Russia's "deliberate strike" on the correctional facility and praised Trump's "very important words," adding that Russia was "wasting the world's time." Earlier this month, Trump had set a 50-day ceasefire deadline, but Monday's announcement signaled a more urgent shift in U.S. posture. "There's no reason to wait if you know what the answer is," Trump said during a visit to Scotland.
In retaliation, Ukrainian forces launched dozens of drones across Russia overnight, striking the Rostov region. Russian officials said one person was killed in their car in the town of Salsk and that a freight train caught fire. In Belgorod, a man was killed in a separate drone strike and his wife injured.
The Kremlin responded Tuesday, stating it had "taken note" of Trump's remarks. "The special military operation continues," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Ukraine's human rights commissioner condemned the attack on the prison, calling it a gross violation of humanitarian law, and emphasized that detainees retain their rights to life and protection under international law.
