WASHINGTON, August 12. /TASS/. The US doesn’t believe Ukrainian forces shelled the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, a high-ranking US official said in a conference call with reporters on Friday.

"I don't have any belief that the Ukrainians, who know very well what the impact of hitting that powerplant would be, would have an interest in hitting the powerplant. It just doesn't make any sense," the official said, according to Caitlin Doornbos, a reporter for the Stars and Stripes newspaper, who quoted him on Twitter.

A US military representative said Washington gave Ukraine weapons that enable it to fight Russians in Ukraine and Kiev sets the targets for these weapons.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that on Thursday the units of the 44th artillery brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine shelled the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant from the settlement of Nikopol using 152 mm guns. The strikes partially damaged the thermal power plant used for internal needs and the equipment of the splash pools of the cooling system of the nuclear reactors. The critical infrastructure of the nuclear power plant was not damaged, and the operation of the reactors was not disrupted.

The Zaporozhye NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. It used to produce one quarter of all electricity in Ukraine. Its total capacity is about 6,000 Megawatts, and it includes six reactors. Right now, the power plant operates at 70% of its full capacity, due to overproduction of power in the liberated parts of the Zaporozhye Region. In the future, it is planned it will supply power to Crimea.