There has been a dramatic spike in violence in eastern Ukraine as crisis talks aimed at resolving the 10-month conflict got under way in Belarus.
Nineteen Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 78 wounded in rebel attacks near the railway town of Debaltseve, a military spokesman said.
In Donetsk five people were reportedly killed and nine wounded in mortar attacks.
The violence came despite warnings that any escalation could derail peace moves.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are in Minsk to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko.
The talks were expected to focus on withdrawing heavy weapons, creating a demilitarised zone and starting a dialogue between Kiev and the rebels.
The four leaders met alone at about 5.30pm UK time and held a full summit with their delegations later on Wednesday.
Mr Poroshenko has said the talks are crucial in deciding whether that the situation will de-escalate or spiral "out of control".
Hopes of striking a deal have been put at 70% by a Russian diplomatic source, while a spokesman for Mrs Merkel said they offered "a glimmer of hope, nothing more".
EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini has urged Moscow to become a "responsible actor" and help end the fighting, which has cost more than 5,300 lives since April.
She said the summit would be a "turning point for good or for bad", and if no agreement was reached the consequences would be "at the least worrying".
Prime Minister David Cameron has said it would be "wrong" for Europe to appease Russia and "reward aggression and brutality".
"That's why it's right to keep the sanctions in place, it's right to keep the European Union and America together on this issue and it's right to stand up to President Putin," he told MPs.
In a telephone call on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama urged Mr Putin to reach a deal or face additional "costs".
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Gallery: Ukraine Crisis: Fighting Increases
Local residents look at the remains of a rocket shell on a street in the town of Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine
Seven civilians have been killed and 26 wounded in rocket strikes on the town of Kramatorsk
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