Russia Bombs Ukrainian Prison and Hospitals, Killing 22, as Trump Issues Ultimatum to Putin

Kyiv, July 29, 2025: Russia launched a wave of deadly attacks on Ukraine overnight, striking a prison in Zaporizhzhia and hospitals in the Dnipro region, killing at least 22 people and injuring dozens more. The barrage of ballistic missiles, glide bombs, and drones marked another intense escalation in Moscow’s ongoing campaign, even as U.S. President Donald Trump issued a stark ultimatum to the Kremlin to halt the violence.

In southeastern Ukraine, four Russian glide bombs slammed into the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility in Zaporizhzhia, killing 17 inmates and injuring over 80 others. Ukrainian authorities said the blast destroyed the prison’s dining hall and damaged several buildings, though no prisoners escaped. Glide bombs, retrofitted Soviet-era munitions equipped with guidance systems, have become one of Moscow’s preferred tools in targeting Ukrainian infrastructure due to their heavy payload—up to 3,000 kilograms of explosives.

In central Ukraine’s Dnipro region, Russian Iskander-M ballistic missiles struck a densely populated area, partially destroying a three-story residential building and damaging nearby medical facilities, including a maternity ward. The attack killed at least four people and wounded eight others. One of the injured was a pregnant woman in serious condition.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that across the country, Russian forces attacked 73 cities, towns, and villages, leaving 22 people dead. “These were conscious, deliberate strikes—not accidental,” Zelenskyy said, condemning the assault as a war crime.

U.S. President Donald Trump, currently visiting Scotland, reacted sharply, shortening a previously set 50-day deadline for Russia to cease hostilities to just 10 to 12 days. He urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the killing before August 7–9. “I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said. He also warned of economic retaliation, including sanctions and tariffs, if the attacks on civilians continued.

Zelenskyy welcomed Trump’s more urgent timeline and emphasized the need for global unity. “Everyone needs peace—Ukraine, Europe, the United States, and responsible leaders across the globe. Everyone except Russia,” he said.

The Kremlin responded defiantly. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, warned that Trump was “playing the ultimatum game” with a nuclear power. “Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran,” Medvedev posted on X. “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.”

Russian forces also carried out additional drone and aerial bomb attacks in the Synelnykivskyi district, killing at least one person and injuring two others. In another incident in the Velykomykhailivska community, a 75-year-old woman was killed and a 68-year-old man was injured.

Ukraine continues to retaliate by targeting Russian infrastructure with long-range drones. Moscow reported shooting down 74 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 43 over the Bryansk region. However, at least one managed to reach the southern city of Salsk in the Rostov region, killing a man and igniting a fire at the railway station. The explosion damaged a passenger train and disrupted railway operations.

As both sides intensify their strikes, the war’s toll on civilians deepens, drawing international concern. While Ukraine accuses Russia of deliberate war crimes, the Kremlin insists its military actions are strategic responses to Western-backed Ukrainian offensives.