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 Kiev said 19 of its soldiers were killed in a day of pro-Russian
separatist assaults at a single location near the railway hub of
Debaltseve, some of the worst losses it has reported in nine months
of war.
Rebels who tore up a five-month-old truce in January are trying to
encircle government forces in Debaltseve, a strategic location that
would let them link up their main strongholds.
The summit is being held in neighboring Belarus under a
Franco-German proposal to try to halt the fighting. Chancellor
Angela Merkel and President Francois Hollande will meet Ukraine's
Petro Poroshenko and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Hopes for a breakthrough are slim, with European officials
acknowledging that the advancing rebels are unlikely to agree to
halt and go back to previous positions.
A surge in fighting in the 24 hours before the leaders were to
gather, including a rocket attack that killed 11 people deep in
government-held territory on Tuesday, could be intended to force
Poroshenko to accept a deal recognizing the rebel advance.
Hours before the talks were due to start, officials still spoke of
the possibility that the meeting would be called off.
 "There are a number of problems which remain to be resolved ... but
it is very likely to go ahead," French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius told France Inter radio. "It is really a last-chance
negotiation."
Still, Moscow maintained its optimism. A Russian diplomatic source
said it was 70 percent likely that an agreement would be reached.
"The presidents aren't traveling (to Minsk) for no reason," the
source said.
ADVANTAGE
Well over 5,000 people have been killed so far in a conflict in
which Kiev accuses Russia of supplying separatists with men and
weapons to further the break-up of Ukraine. Moscow denies it is
involved in fighting for territory Putin calls "New Russia".
If the French and German leaders were hoping their peace initiative
would be met by conciliatory moves on the ground, the prospect of
talks appears to have triggered the opposite, with the pro-Russian
rebels determined to drive home their advantage.
Armored columns of Russian-speaking soldiers with no insignia have
been advancing for days around Debaltseve. Last week they captured
the small town of Vuhlehirsk next to Debaltseve, and a
reconnaissance unit was there on Tuesday salvaging equipment from
abandoned Ukrainian trenches.
The squad's commander said his men did not want a truce while they
had government forces on the run.
On the Russian side of the border, Moscow announced war games on
Tuesday on the eve of the talks.
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The United States has been openly discussing arming the Ukrainian
government, a move that is opposed by European allies who say it
would escalate the conflict while falling far short of giving Kiev
the firepower needed to win.
President Barack Obama says he has yet to make up his mind on the
question of sending weapons. He spoke by phone overnight to Putin,
and the White House said he warned the Russian leader that the costs
would rise if Moscow kept aiding the separatists.
Kiev military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov, briefing journalists on
rebel attempts to encircle government forces holding Debaltseve,
said the 19 soldiers had been killed "in shelling, rocket attacks
and military clashes".
Poroshenko visited Ukraine's military headquarters in the
government-held town of Kramatorsk overnight, where seven civilians
and four soldiers were killed by rockets fired at a target that was
nowhere near the front line.
"This is a crime against humanity. This is almost 50 kilometers from
the front line and the Russian-backed rebels and terrorist attacking
civilians, attacking the peaceful city of Kramatorsk. This is
absolutely unacceptable.
"These crimes should be punished. We demand an immediate,
unconditional ceasefire, the closing of the border, and the
withdrawal of all foreign troops from Ukrainian territory," he said.
In separatist-held territory, one person was killed on Wednesday
when a shell hit a bus station in the city of Donetsk, east Ukraine,
a Reuters witness said.
The body of a man could be seen behind the wheel of a minibus after
a shell fell through the roof of the station, burning up the vehicle
and another beside it, he said.
Emergency services at the scene said another person had died in
hospital following the attack, while two people were seriously
wounded. There was no immediate comment from rebel authorities or
the Kiev-controlled regional administration.
(Additional reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic, Alessandra Prentice,
Margarita Chornokondatrenko, Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Richard
Balmforth; editing by Peter Graff/Janet McBride)
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