A Russian ballistic missile strike on Volodymyr Zelensky's home city of Kryvyi Rig killed 14 people yesterday, including six children, the Ukrainian leader said.

The missile struck a residential area near a children's playground and wounded more than 50 people, according to the head of the city's military administration.

Unverified videos on social media appeared to show bodies lying on a street, while another showed a plume of smoke rising into the evening sky.

"It was preliminarily a ballistic missile attack. As of now, 14 people have been killed, including six children," Zelensky said on Telegram.

The rescue operation was ongoing, he added.

"There is only one reason why this continues -- Russia does not want a ceasefire and we see it. The whole world sees it," he said.

"And only the world's pressure on Russia, all efforts to strengthen Ukraine, our air defence, our forces -- only this will determine when the war will end."

The Ukrainian leader was born in Kryvyi Rig, which had a pre-war population of around 600,000 people.

US President Donald Trump's administration has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war, holding talks with both Russia and Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional and full ceasefire, while Ukraine has accused Moscow of dragging out talks with no intention of halting its offensive.