Deadly gunfights break out in Ukraine as clock ticks down to ceasefire

Ferocious fighting raged in Ukraine yesterday, threatening a ceasefire deal as Kiev and the US accused Russia of fuelling a rebel onslaught to grab territory hours before the truce began.

Kiev-loyal regional police chief Vyacheslav Abroskin said artillery was razing the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve, where government forces were clinging on. "The rebels are destroying the town of Debaltseve.There are non-stop artillery bombardments of residential areas and buildings. The town is in flames," he said.

Kiev's Azov volunteer battalion also reported fierce clashes just to the east of the vital government-held port city of Mariupol and said the village of Shyrokyne had been "practically destroyed" by shelling.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warned on Friday that surging fighting had plunged a peace plan reached in Minsk after marathon talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin into "big danger" before it even got off the ground.

The ceasefire, which was due to take effect yesterday evening, will be the first test of the commitment by Kiev and separatists to the freshly inked peace plan.