The state emergency service posted images of a destroyed building and a damaged firetruck that were hit in the apparent double-tap attack.

"The attack left one person dead and wounded 25 people, including a two-month-old baby and four rescuers," the emergency services said in a statement.

They said Russian forces had launched a combined drone and missile attack at intervals, explaining that firefighters had been wounded in "the second" attack.

"We need more sanctions against Russia, more air defence systems to protect our cities and communities, and more weapons for our warriors on the front lines," Zelensky said on social media.

The industrial city had an estimated population of more than 700,000 people before the Russian invasion in February 2022, and lies around 35 kilometres (20 miles) from the frontline.

The wider region is home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant and was claimed by the Kremlin as Russian territory in late 2022.

At least 13 people were killed in the city earlier this month in one of the single deadliest attacks in weeks of the nearly three-year war.

The emergency services said an administrative building, residential buildings had been damaged.

The Ukrainian air force said that Russia had fired four Iskandr missiles at Zaporizhzhia in the attack.

It also said Ukrainian air defence systems had shot down 57 drones, including the Iranian-designed Shahed attack variety.

The attack was the latest in an intensifying series of strikes on southern Ukraine as both Moscow and Kyiv vie for advantage in the early days of US President Donald Trump's administration.

On Wednesday, Trump stepped up the pressure on Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine, threatening tougher economic measures if Moscow does not agree to end the nearly three-year-old war.

Prior to his inauguration on Monday, Trump had vowed to end the Ukraine war immediately upon taking office, raising expectations he would leverage aid to force Kyiv to make concessions to Russia, which invaded in February 2022.

burs-jbr/oc/ach