Zaporizhzhia governor Ivan Fedorov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said that the correctional facility’s buildings were destroyed, and nearby private homes were also damaged.
“It was a deliberate strike, intentional, not accidental. The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians in that facility,” Zelensky said in a statement on social media.
The attack late on Monday hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Colony with four guided aerial bombs, according to the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine. At least 42 inmates were hospitalised with serious injuries, while another 40 people, including one staff member, sustained various injuries.
The strike destroyed the prison’s dining hall, damaged administrative and quarantine buildings, but the perimeter fence held, and no escapes were reported, authorities said.
