The Ukrainian president has warned a deal to end the war in the east is in "great danger" after heavy fighting ahead of Saturday night's ceasefire.
Petro Poroshenko Photo: Anadolu Agency / Vladimir Shtanko
Petro Poroshenko also accused Russia of "significantly increasing" its offensive in spite of the peace agreement reached in Minsk on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the US said it was very concerned by reports of heavy weapons coming across the border from Russia.
More than a dozen civilians are said to have died in shelling on Friday.
It is unclear who was behind the shelling but both the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian rebels in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions accuse each other of targeting residential areas.
Escalation expected
With less than 24 hours until the ceasefire is due to take effect, correspondents say the fighting shows no sign of stopping.
The BBC reports the fiercest battles have been around Debaltseve, a strategic town in between rebel-held areas.
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Petro Mekhed said the rebels wanted to "raise their flag" over Debaltseve and the key port city of Mariupol before the midnight ceasefire ceasefire kicked in.
"Ukraine is expecting an escalation and taking all necessary measures to be able to respond," Mr Mekhed told reporters.
Rebel shelling killed two people in a cafe in Shchastya, near Luhansk, on Friday as well as a young child near a school in Artemivsk, a town near Debaltseve, according to Kiev-controlled regional authorities.
Meanwhile, the rebels said at least six people had died in shelling in the city of Donetsk and town of Horlivka. The rebels accuse government forces of shelling the towns.
"After what we achieved in Minsk this is not just shelling of Ukrainian civilians and residential neighbourhoods - this is an attack on our Minsk achievements, without any explanations," President Poroshenko said.
"Unfortunately, after Minsk, Russia's offensive operations have intensified," he said, before adding: "We are still convinced that the Minsk achievements are in a big danger."
There were also reports of a government offensive near Mariupol, the city between rebel-held eastern areas and the southern Crimea peninsula, which was annexed by Russia last March.
Serious live fire
The new clashes have fuelled fears that the peace deal agreed in the Belarusian capital could fall through before the ceasefire starts.
The group responsible for monitoring the ceasefire said it remained hopeful despite there being "quite serious live fire" in several areas on Friday.
"We feel that the Minsk agreements are really the only available roadmap to a sustainable ceasefire," said Michael Bociurkiw, spokesman for the OSCE.
- BBC -
