Militants have been instructed to seize Debaltseve and Mariupol in Donetsk region by February 15, when a ceasefire is due to begin, deputy defense minister of Ukraine Petro Mekhed has reported.

"If we take into account that as of today we reached the agreement to abide by a ceasefire by 0:00 on February 15, under my information, the Russian terrorist troops have been set the task to raise a flag over Debaltseve and Mariupol," he told journalists in Kyiv on Monday.

Mekhed said the Defense Ministry expects the escalation of the situation on these tracks and is taking all necessary measures to repel the militants' attacks.

He said four instances of fighting were registered in the anti-terrorist operation zone on Thursday and three were registered there on Friday morning.

Mekhed said the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has reported an increase in the number of Russian troops in the combat area.

"In addition, they are supplying weapons to militants, they are actively fighting […] and there is a tendency towards an increase. We can say that over 10,000 Russian troops are now in Ukraine," he said.