FIERCE fighting surged in east Ukraine yesterday as both separatist rebels and Kiev forces struggled for territorial advantage ahead of tomorrow’s ceasefire.

The deadline for the warring sides to halt hostilities is one minute after midnight and there were clear signs that both were mounting major and sustained new pushes to beat the clock.

Clashes appeared only to have increased in the day since the peace agreement was sealed in the Belarusian capital Minsk by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

Kiev military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said 11 soldiers had been killed and another 40 wounded over the previous day. 

Regional authorities loyal to Kiev reported six civilian deaths in areas under their control, while the rebel people’s republics said that seven people had been killed in government artillery attacks on the separatist-held cities of Lugansk and Horlivka.

Meanwhile, Kiev’s Deputy Defence Minister Petro Mekhed alleged that separatist forces had been given the task of hoisting their flags over Debaltseve and Mariuopol, before the ceasefire took effect.

Ukraine insists that Debaltseve should remain in government control under the terms of the failed September peace deal.

But rebel forces have all but completed the encirclement of the town, with only a highway linking it to other government-held territory, and that highway is now under constant bombardment by rebel artillery.

Ukrainian access to the highway looks to have been compromised with the apparent capture of the village of Lohvynove, which lies along the road just north of Debaltseve.

Elsewhere, by the Azov Sea in the south-east, Ukrainian government troops boasted they had clawed back a handful of villages, although troops have denied reporters access to verify the claims.

That offensive is aimed at pushing back rebel forces from Mariupol.

According to the ceasefire proposals, the next step, which to begin on Monday, is to form a sizeable buffer zone between Ukrainian forces and the people’s republics’ rebel fighters.

Each side is to pull heavy weaponry back from the front line, creating a zone roughly 30-85 miles wide. 

The withdrawals are to be completed in two weeks.