Mass casualties from overnight Russian attacks on a prison, hospital, and aid queue deepen Ukraine’s crisis, while President Trump escalates pressure with a final ceasefire ultimatum.
KYIV, Ukraine — At least 25 civilians were killed and dozens more injured in a wave of overnight and early morning Russian air strikes across Ukraine, targeting a prison, hospital, and civilians waiting for aid. The attacks mark one of the deadliest single-day assaults in recent weeks, as diplomatic tensions intensify with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing an August 8 deadline for a ceasefire agreement or new sanctions on Russia.
The deadliest strike hit the Bilenke penitentiary in the southern Zaporizhzhia region just before midnight, where four Russian glide bombs destroyed key prison facilities including the dining hall and administrative headquarters. According to Ukraine’s justice ministry, 16 inmates were confirmed dead and more than 50 injured, with 44 rushed to hospitals. The ministry initially reported 17 dead but later revised the toll.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner condemned the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law, emphasizing that people in custody still retain their right to life and protection under the Geneva Conventions.
Humanitarian Aid Site and Hospital Also Targeted
In a separate incident in Kharkiv’s Novoplatonivka village, five civilians were killed while waiting in line to receive humanitarian aid near a local shop. Photos released by Ukrainian authorities showed bodies sprawled across a rubble-strewn area near the destroyed building. Local police described the victims as civilians gathered in a peaceful distribution line.
Elsewhere in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a Russian rocket attack struck a hospital in the city of Kamianske, killing three people, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman named Diana. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the hospital strike a “cowardly act of terror,” blaming Russia for continuing a war when a ceasefire “could have long been in place.”
Trump Tightens the Clock on Moscow
Later Tuesday, President Donald Trump reaffirmed a hard August 8 deadline for the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire, warning of sweeping economic sanctions if Moscow fails to respond. The move cuts short a previous 50-day deadline Trump had issued earlier in July while visiting the UK.
“If Russia does not agree to peace by August 8, they will face the most severe sanctions package ever enacted,” Trump said, vowing to end the conflict through “maximum pressure.”
So far, the ultimatum has had little effect. Russia has responded with intensified bombardments and claimed further advances on the ground.
Fighting Escalates on Both Sides
Russia claimed Tuesday that its forces had seized the village of Maliivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region, marking what Moscow says is continued forward momentum. Ukraine has rejected the claim, calling it “propaganda” and asserting that Russian troops remain bogged down in key areas.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Rostov region was hit by a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks overnight, with one civilian killed in Salsk when a drone hit his vehicle. In Belgorod, another person was killed and his wife injured in a separate drone strike.
Both countries accuse each other of escalating the conflict, as ceasefire negotiations remain stalled.
With less than two weeks until Trump’s deadline, Ukraine continues to brace for further strikes, while international attention turns to whether Russia will comply—or dig in for a prolonged war that has already claimed thousands of lives on both sides.