ISTANBUL

Ukraine said on Tuesday that at least 16 people were killed and 44 others injured in a Russian strike on a penal colony in the country’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.

“As a result of the strike, 16 people among convicts died, 44 people were injured and hospitalized in local hospitals, and more than 50 victims received medical assistance on the spot,” said a statement by the Ukrainian Justice Ministry.

Claiming that four guided aerial bombs targeted the territory of the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility late Monday, the statement said the attack damaged the facility’s headquarters, quarantine station and dining room.

An earlier statement by the ministry said the attack killed 17 and injured 42 others before issuing an update for the casualty toll.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X called the attack “a deliberate strike, targeted, not accidental.”

“And this was done after the absolutely clear position of the United States, supported by the world, was voiced that Russia should end this war and move on to diplomacy,” Zelenskyy further said.

He went on to argue that every strike on Ukraine by Moscow showed that Russia “deserves very harsh, truly painful, and therefore just and effective sanctions pressure.”

“Ukraine welcomes the efforts of (US) President (Donald) Trump, his determination to achieve peace. We thank all the leaders who are helping to protect Ukraine and put pressure on Russia. Peace is possible. But only when Russia stops the war that it started and stops abusing the people,” he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the attack claim during a press briefing later Tuesday, saying: "The Russian army does not strike civilian targets. Strikes are carried out on military and paramilitary infrastructure."

Trump on Monday threatened Russia with sanctions and secondary tariffs if it does not end the Ukraine war in "about 10 or 12 days," much earlier than a previous deadline of 50 days, which he had voiced on July 14 during a meeting in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

In response to the US president’s remarks, Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow has “taken note” of them.