MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. A top official of the Zaporozhye regional civilian-military administration, on Monday said that the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant’s special unit No. 1 where nuclear fuel is stored, was hit by Ukraine’s military.

"As a result of a strike by the militants of [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky, the roof of special unit No. 1 of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant has been smashed in. Fresh fuel for the ZNPP’s reactors is stored in the building," Vladimir Rogov stated on Telegram.

He also posted pictures accompanying the message, showing a massive hole in the roof.

The military civilian administration of Energodar said that Ukrainian forces are using US-made M777 howitzer to attack the city.

"Armed formations of Ukraine’s military today are continuously firing in the direction of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and the communities in its vicinity. This footage shows a hole caused by a strike from an artillery 155-mm shell in the roof of special unit No. 1 at the nuclear power plant. The shell was fired from the city of Nikopol on the opposite side of the Dnieper. A US-made howitzer M777 was used for the shelling," it said in a statement.

Head of the military-civilian administration of the city, Alexander Volga, said earlier that the artillery strikes on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant are incessant. Rogov said that the intensity of the bombardment against the Zaporozhye plant and Energodar had risen by 70% over the past week.

The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, located in the city of Energodar, is controlled by Russian troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces have inflicted several strikes on the territory of the station in recent days, using, in particular, drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems. In most cases, the attacks are repelled by air defense systems, but some shells hit the infrastructure and the area of the nuclear waste repository.