There has been a dramatic increase in violence in eastern Ukraine as talks aimed at resolving the 10-month conflict are due to begin in Belarus.
Nineteen Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 78 wounded in rebel attacks near the key railway town of Debaltseve, a military spokesman said.
In rebel-held Donetsk five people including a bus driver were reportedly killed and nine wounded in mortar attacks on a bus station and a metal plant.
The attacks have come despite pleas for the warring factions to refrain from hostilities that could derail peace moves.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has revealed he made an impromptu visit to the war-torn region early on Wednesday.
He stopped in the city of Kramatorsk, some 50km (30m) from the front line, where Kiev says 16 people were killed and 48 wounded in a rocket strike on Tuesday.
"We demand an unconditional peace," Mr Poroshenko said in a statement. "We demand a ceasefire, a withdrawal of all foreign troops, and closing of the border... We will find a compromise within the country."
The summit in the Belarus capital Minsk follows last week's discussions between Mr Putin and Mr Poroshenko, led by Germany and France.
It will be attended by Mr Putin and Mr Poroshenko along with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who have now arrived for the talks.
They are expected to focus on withdrawing heavy weapons, creating a demilitarised zone in eastern Ukraine and starting a dialogue between Kiev and the rebels.
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 in Ukraine, 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".
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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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