Fighting is intensifying across eastern Ukraine with both government troops and rebels launching offensives to gain ground ahead of peace talks in Minsk on Wednesday.<br /><br /> Separatists have pushed to cut-off a government held road in Kramatorsk but they have denied firing on nearby residential apartments.<br /><br /> At least three people have been killed with more than a dozen injured in the town which lies about 50km from frontlines. It is also where Kyiv’s military directs its campaign against pro-Russian separatists.<br /><br /> Kyiv says its waging a counter-offensive in the southeast coastal town of Mariupol, to relieve separatist pressure on Debaltseve.<br /><br /> It is been impossible to verify details of the operation but it is unlikely to provide much relief at the main battle front where government forces have been steadily pushed back.<br /><br /> In Donetsk, the leader of the rebel-held region has repeated his call for volunteers to fight.<br /><br /> A similar appeal has also reportedly been made in the pro-Russian town of
