Ukraine clashes kill 26 ahead of ceasefire

Hostilities between government troops and pro-independence rebels in eastern Ukraine have flared up, leaving 26 people dead and injuring scores of others, the authorities said Friday.

The surge in fighting came as the warring sides accused each other of pushing an offensive to make territorial gains ahead of a ceasefire scheduled to take effect Sunday, Xinhua reported.

Ukraine's deputy Defence Minister Petro Mekhed said the rebel forces were aiming to capture the government-controlled Mariupol and Debaltsevo towns before the ceasefire deal comes into the force.

Meanwhile, insurgents blamed Ukrainian troops for shelling their positions in Lugansk, Donetsk and Gorlovka cities, the main rebel bastions.

On Thursday evening, three children ,aged between one and 11 years, were killed and their mother was wounded, when a shell hit their house on Gorlovka outskirts, in the Donetsk region, the city council said.

In Lugansk, three civilians were killed and five wounded, while 14 other people were injured in Donetsk, according to authorities.

In the Kiev-controlled Shchastya town, four people were killed and five wounded when a shell hit a cafe in a residential area, Lugansk Governor Gennady Moskal said.

According to preliminary data, at least five people died and 10 others were injured during battles in several small towns in Donetsk region surrounding the besieged Debaltsevo, interior ministry's regional department said.