According to new satellite images by Maxar Technologies, four holes appeared in the roof of the Zaporizhzhya NPP building, near at least three Russian armored personnel carriers, reports CNN.

The roof of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant was damagedPhoto: Handout / AFP / Profimedia

Volodymyr Rogov, the head of the Zaporizhzhia region appointed by Russia, claimed that the holes were the result of an attack by the Ukrainian military on the complex. Rogov published photos showing one of the holes in his Telegram channel.

According to Rogov, there is at least one hole in the roof of the building where the reactor fuel is stored.

CNN has geolocated and authenticated the photos, but not the claim that the holes are the result of a Ukrainian military strike.

The Ukrainian government has repeatedly denied military strikes on or near the plant in recent weeks.

Satellite images show at least three Russian armored personnel carriers sitting beneath a large pipe structure that powers all six nuclear reactors.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not have “heavy weapons” at the nuclear power plant. The holes in the building are located almost 500 meters from one of the station’s nuclear reactors.

CNN reached out to Ukrainian authorities to ask if they had launched a military attack on the plant, but has yet to receive a response.

The satellite image also shows the fire north of the plant.

Last week, the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant was completely disconnected from the power grid due to fires near the plant.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Thursday evening that the world is one step away from a nuclear catastrophe. “If the diesel generators had not been started… if the staff of our station had not reacted after the power failure, then we would have already been forced to experience the consequences of the radiation accident,” he said in his video address in the evening.