Kyiv, July 29: Russian glide bombs and ballistic missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight and killed at least 22 people across the country, officials said Tuesday, as Russia kept up its relentless pounding of civilian areas despite US President Donald Trump’s threat to soon punish it with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops.

Four powerful Russian glide bombs hit a prison in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, authorities said. They killed at least 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 others, officials said.

In the Dnipro region of central Ukraine, authorities said Russian missiles partially destroyed a three-story building and damaged nearby medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and a city hospital ward. Officials said at least four people were killed and eight injured, including a pregnant woman who was in a serious condition.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that across the country, 22 people were killed in Russian strikes on 73 cities, towns and villages. “These were conscious, deliberate strikes – not accidental,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Trump said Monday he is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to stop the killing in Ukraine after three years of war, moving up a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago. The move meant Trump wants peace efforts to make progress by Aug. 7-9.

Trump has repeatedly rebuked Putin for talking about ending the war but continuing to bombard Ukrainian civilians. But the Kremlin hasn’t changed its tactics.

“I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said during a visit to Scotland.

Zelenskyy welcomed Trump’s move on the timeline. “Everyone needs peace – Ukraine, Europe, the United States, and responsible leaders across the globe,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. “Everyone except Russia.”

The Kremlin pushes back against Trump

The Kremlin pushed back, however, with a top Putin lieutenant warning Trump against “playing the ultimatum game with Russia.”

“Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran,” former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy head of the country’s Security Council, wrote on social platform X.

“Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev said.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour, the Kremlin has warned Kyiv’s Western backers that their involvement could end up broadening the war to NATO countries.

“Kremlin officials continue to frame Russia as in direct geopolitical confrontation with the West in order to generate domestic support for the war in Ukraine and future Russian aggression against NATO,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said late Monday.

Russia attacks with glide bombs, drones and missiles

The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles along with 37 Shahed-type strike drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said 32 Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralized by Ukrainian air defenses.

The Russian attack close to midnight Monday hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility with glide bombs, according to the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine.

Glide bombs, which are Soviet-era bombs retrofitted with retractable fins and guidance systems, have been laying waste to cities in eastern Ukraine, where the Russian army is trying to pierce Ukrainian defenses. The bombs carry up to 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds) of explosives.

At least 42 inmates were hospitalized 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.

Ukrainian officials condemned the attack, saying that targeting civilian infrastructure, such as prisons, is a war crime under international conventions.

Further Russian attacks hit communities in Synelnykivskyi district with FPV drones and aerial bombs, killing at least one person and injuring two others, regional Gov. Serhii Lysak said.

Russian forces also targeted the community of Velykomykhailivska, killing a 75-year-old woman and injuring a 68-year-old man, according to Lysak.

Ukraine launches long-range drones

Ukraine has sought to fight back against Russian strikes by developing its own long-range drone technology, hitting oil depots, weapons plants and disrupting commercial flights.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that air defenses downed 74 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight, including 43 over the Bryansk region.

Yuri Slyusar, the head of the Rostov region said a man in the city of Salsk was killed in a drone attack, which started a fire at the Salsk railway station.

Officials said a cargo train was set ablaze at the Salsk station and the railway traffic via Salsk was suspended. Explosions shattered windows in two cars of a passenger train and passengers were evacuated.

Srinagar, July 29: US President Donald Trump reignited his feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan during a press conference in Scotland alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. When asked whether he planned to visit London in September, Trump confirmed, but took the opportunity to criticize Khan, saying, “I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job… a nasty person”.

Starmer, interjecting, responded, “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”

Unfazed, Trump reiterated his criticism: “I think he’s done a terrible job. But I would certainly visit London.”

Asked by a reporter if he intended to come to London in September during a state visit, Trump responded affirmatively but then clarified: “I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job.”

“The Mayor of London… a nasty person,” he added.

The comments prompted Starmer to state: “He’s a friend of mine, actually.”

But doubling down on his view of Khan, Trump went on: “I think he’s done a terrible job. But I would certainly visit London.”

Trump then accused Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when he was first elected in 2016, of doing a “very bad job on terrorism”, calling him a “stone cold loser” and “very dumb”.

In a podcast recorded before Trump’s re-election on November 5, 2024, Khan accused the incoming president of targeting him because of the colour of his skin.

In a statement later Monday, a spokesperson for Khan said the mayor was “delighted that President Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world”.

Trump and Khan, both known for their sharp exchanges in the past, remain at odds, with Khan—like Starmer—being a member of the Labour Party.

Srinagar, July 29: A police officer is among the four victims of a mass shooting at a Midtown Manhattan office building in New York. Officer Didarul Islam, 36, a dedicated member of the NYPD, was fatally shot by a 27-year-old gunmen.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams paid tribute to Islam, describing him as an immigrant from Bangladesh who deeply loved the city and lived by his faith.
“He loved this city, and everyone we spoke to described him as a man of faith, someone who lived his life guided by godly values,” Adams said during a press briefing.

The three other victims included two women and a man. The police have withheld their identities until their families are informed. Another man was severely injured in the firing and is undergoing treatment.

“He represented the very spirit of New York—not just through the uniform he wore, but through his heart, energy, and commitment to serving others. Tonight, I met his family and told them he was a hero. We honor his courage and sacrifice,” the mayor added.

The gunman, Shane Devon Tamura from Las Vegas, died of a self-inflicted injury, said New York police. He had a “documented mental health history”, Commissioner Tisch told a press conference, adding that his motive is still being probed.

Tamura carried an AR-style rifle into the 345 Park Avenue skyscraper in crowded Midtown Manhattan at around 6:40 pm (local time), a few blocks from the Rockefeller Centre and the Museum of Modern Art. He first exchanged fire with an officer in the building’s lobby and went to the 32nd or 33rd floor. later, the police confirmed Islam’s death.

Srinagar, July 29: A 27-year-old man named Shane Tamura has been identified as the gunman responsible for a deadly shooting at a midtown Manhattan office building on Monday evening, local time. The incident left at least four people dead. According to the Fire Department of New York, emergency services responded to a call at 6:28 p.m. reporting gunfire inside a Park Avenue high-rise that houses major financial institutions, including private equity firm Blackstone and the National Football League (NFL).

According to reports police recovered Tamura’s rifle, a Palmetto State Armory AR-15 assault rifle, which was smeared with blood. A vehicle with Nevada plates registered to Tamura was found at the scene. Inside that vehicle, the police found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, a backpack and medication prescribed to Tamura. The vehicle was searched by bomb squad and found to be clear of explosives.

The initial investigation shows Tamura’s car travelled across country through Colorado on July 26 and Columbia New Jersey as recently as 4:24 pm on Monday. The vehicle entered New York city shortly after.

He was armed with a long rifle and wearing a bullet-resistant vest entered a 44-story office tower on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, not far from Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, and the Museum of Modern Art. He reportedly began shooting shortly after entering the building.
At a press briefing, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that the suspect first shot an NYPD officer, then targeted a woman who had taken cover behind a pillar. He continued through the building’s lobby, shooting a security guard hiding behind the front desk. A fourth male victim was also shot in the lobby area.

Tamura has a documented history of mental health issues, said the New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch during a press briefing.The investigation so far reveals no criminal background. The motives are still under investigation.