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Russian airstrikes kill 19 in southeastern Ukraine as conflict intensifies
At least 19 people were killed in southeastern Ukraine following a series of Russian airstrikes overnight, Ukrainian officials reported on Tuesday. The attacks come as tensions between Moscow and Washington escalate, with U.S. President Donald Trump setting a stricter timeline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate the conflict.
Prison bombing in Zaporizhzhia
Sixteen people lost their lives and dozens were injured when a prison in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, near the front lines, was struck by Russian airstrikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, calling it “deliberate” and accusing Russia of knowingly targeting civilians. “The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians in that facility,” Zelenskyy stated on X. He added that this attack followed clear warnings from the United States.
The Ukrainian justice ministry reported that the prison’s dining hall was destroyed, and other parts of the facility severely damaged. The strike involved four high-explosive bombs, leaving 42 people injured. Initial reports of 17 fatalities were later revised to 16.
Eyewitness accounts described the harrowing aftermath, with survivors trapped beneath rubble and debris. “People were screaming, moaning. Some dead, some alive, some without legs – half of them burned,” said 54-year-old prisoner Yaroslav Samarskiy.
Hospital and aid point attacks
In a separate incident in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a missile strike on a hospital killed three people, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman. Ukrainian authorities reported that this brought the total death toll over the past 24 hours to 22.
Meanwhile, in the northeastern Kharkiv region, five people died after a Russian strike hit a humanitarian aid point in a front-line village, according to a senior police official.
Escalating conflict and U.S. pressure
Russia has denied targeting civilians in these attacks, maintaining that its military operations focus on strategic objectives. However, the intensification of airstrikes on towns and cities behind Ukrainian front lines underscores the ongoing brutality of the conflict, now in its fourth year. Russian forces currently control roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory.
President Trump, expressing frustration with the slow progress towards peace, announced on Monday that he would give Russia 10 to 12 days to show tangible steps toward ending the war. In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked, “The special military operation continues,” using the term Moscow employs for its military campaign in Ukraine.
This latest wave of violence highlights both the humanitarian toll and the geopolitical stakes of the ongoing war as diplomatic solutions remain elusive.