At least 20 people killed as leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France prepare for peace talks in Minsk.
Shelling rocked a bus station in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk as fighting continued to rage in the country's east ahead of the talks on Wednesday.
Rebel officials said that five people were killed and nine wounded at the scene of the attack, where an Associated Press news agency reporter saw one body.
Donetsk city officials said in a statement that three people had been killed in shelling overnight.
'Martial law'
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday said he was ready to introduce martial law throughout the country if the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the east escalated further.
"The government and parliament are ready to introduce martial law throughout Ukraine," Poroshenko told a cabinet meeting ahead of peace talks in Minsk.
"I will not hesitate with this decision, if the actions of the aggressor lead to further escalation."
Poroshenko said the Minsk summit was "the most important meeting" of his presidency.
"The summit's outcome will decide whether we can stop the aggression through diplomatic channels or if we switch to a completely different mode."
The president posted a statement on his website saying that he had made an impromptu visit to the war-torn region early on Wednesday.
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We demand an unconditional peace. We demand a ceasefire, a withdrawal
of all foreign troops, and closing of the border... We will find a
compromise within the country. |
"We demand an unconditional peace," Poroshenko said. "We demand a ceasefire, a withdrawal of all foreign troops, and closing of the border... We will find a compromise within the country."
Officials in Kiev also said on Wednesday that 19 troops had been killed and 78 wounded in a day of fighting in Debaltseve, a hotly contested transport hub in the region.
Poroshenko will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later for peace talks in Minsk, Belarus. France and Germany, who are brokering the talks, have called on the warring parties to refrain from hostilities that could derail the four-way summit.
'Problems remain'
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said early Monday that "quite a number of problems remain" in negotiations aimed at ending the fighting.
Fabius said that it was "very probable" but not certain that French President Francois Hollande would attend the talks.
He said difficulties remain on the future of embattled eastern Ukraine, guarantees about the Ukraine-Russia border near the area, and the prospects of a possible ceasefire, weapons pullback and prisoner exchange.
Fabius said the aim of the talks is to win an accord, but "not just one on paper".
Ahead of Wednesday's talks, representatives of the separatists, Russia, Ukraine and the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe met for talks in Minsk.
These consultations were to continue on Wednesday afternoon, Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov told AP. Asked whether any progress has been achieved already, Surkov said: "It's too early to say."
On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call to agree to a peace deal with the Ukrainian government.
"If Russia continues its aggressive actions in Ukraine, including by sending troops, weapons, and financing to support the separatists, the costs for Russia will rise," said a statement issued by the White House.
The Kremlin, however, emphasised in its statement about the call that the Ukraine crisis was an "internal" conflict.
Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of supplying and training the heavily armed separatists, but Russia denies the claims.
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