Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday that its forces had destroyed a U.S.-made M777 howitzer which it said Ukraine had used to shell the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

In its daily briefing, the Defense Ministry said that the howitzer had been destroyed west of the town of Marganets, in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region.

And as a result of Ukrainian shelling, four munitions exploded in the area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the Russian ministry said on Friday.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has repeatedly come under fire in recent weeks with both Ukraine and Russia having accused each other of attacking the facility.

(With input from Reuters)