Three people were killed and five others were wounded when Russian forces fired mortars that hit an evacuation bus in the southern Kherson region, a Ukrainian military spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The incident happened on Aug. 1 as the bus was heading from the village of Starosilya, which is under Russian control, to the Ukrainian-held city of Kryvyi Rih.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the southern command of Ukraine's military, said the vehicle came under mortar fire near the village of Dovhove.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it calls a special military operation, denies deliberately targeting civilians, though its attacks have devastated Ukrainian towns and cities.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Mike Harrison)