On the night of July 29, Russian forces attacked one of the penitentiary facilities in the Zaporizhzhya Region. According to the information from the Prosecutor General’s Office, 16 people were killed and 43 injured.
As the head of the Regional Military Administration, Ivan Fedorov, reported, Russia carried out eight strikes on the Zaporizhzhya district during the night, presumably using FABs. One of the targets was a correctional colony. Later, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that it was the Bilenke Correctional Colony.
The ministry reported that on July 28, 2025, at approximately 11:28 p.m., the Russian Armed Forces launched an airstrike on the territory of the Bilenke Correctional Colony using four guided aerial bombs (KABs).
As a result of the strike, the colony’s dining facility was completely destroyed, and the administrative headquarters and quarantine unit sustained significant damage. The attack resulted in deaths and injuries among the inmates. Those severely wounded were hospitalized in Ministry of Health facilities. Around 40 others sustained injuries of varying severity, and one staff member suffered minor wounds (shrapnel injuries to the face).
Approximately 50 officers from the Security Division of the State Criminal Enforcement Service of Ukraine were deployed to maintain order at the facility. All those injured received medical assistance and remain under supervision in the medical unit, duty section, and other departments of the institution. The facility's perimeter was not damaged, and there is no threat of escape.
The ministry emphasized that this strike once again demonstrates a blatant violation of international humanitarian law by the Russian armed forces. The shelling of civilian infrastructure, including penitentiary institutions, is regarded as a war crime.