OREANDA-NEWS  At least five people were killed when Ukrainian shelling hit a bus in Russia’s newly incorporated Kherson Region early on Friday, local health authorities have said.

“Unfortunately, as a result of the shelling, five people were killed and five were injured,” Kherson Region’s health department announced on Telegram.

The injured passengers, who suffered shrapnel wounds, have been hospitalized, with their condition described as moderate, it added.

The Ukrainian shelling of the Daryevsky Bridge over the Ingulets River took place at around 7am local time, with a missile hitting a bus carrying local residents to work, according to Kherson Region’s administration.

A source in the emergency services told RIA-Novosti that a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launch system had been used in the attack, with four missiles fired at a bridge.

The Ukrainian military frequently shells settlements and civilian infrastructure in Kherson Region in a bid to disrupt Russian logistics in the area. Its prime targets have been the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power plant, the Antonovsky Bridge and a pontoon crossing across the Dnepr River in the city of Kherson.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin signed into law four unification treaties with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, officially making them part of Russia. The four territories overwhelmingly supported the move during referendums in late September.