Ukraine's president says peace deal in ‘great danger’

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ukraine's president has warned that a deal to end the war in the east is in "great danger" after heavy fighting ahead of ceasefire expected to take effect Sunday, Feb 15, BBC News reports.

Petro Poroshenko also accused Russia of "significantly increasing" its offensive despite the peace agreement reached in Minsk on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. said it was very concerned by reports of heavy weapons coming across the border from Russia.

Shelling was heard in the rebel-held city of Donetsk early on Saturday.

Fierce battles are also said to be continuing around Debaltseve, a strategic government-held town between areas held by pro-Russian militias.

More than a dozen civilians are said to have died in shelling in eastern Ukraine 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.

In New York, the UN Security Council will meet on Sunday in emergency session to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire deal.

The presidents of France, Russia and Ukraine as well as the German chancellor - who together clinched the agreement in the Belarusian capital - are also expected to discuss the issue by phone over the weekend.

With less than 24 hours until the ceasefire is due to take effect, correspondents say the fighting shows no sign of stopping.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Petro Mekhed said the rebels wanted to "raise their flag" over Debaltseve and the key port city of Mariupol before the midnight ceasefire (22:00 GMT) kicked in.

"Ukraine is expecting an escalation and taking all necessary measures to be able to respond," Mekhed told reporters.

"After what we achieved in Minsk this is not just shelling of Ukrainian civilians and residential neighborhoods - 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."