French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday said he would travel to the Belarus' capital of Minsk on Wednesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on how to stop the fighting in Ukraine.

Hollande reiterated his "firm determination" to broker agreement on a peace deal following recent waves of violence that threw a ceasefire agreement into disarray.

"But even as discussions are underway, so is fighting in eastern Ukraine which is making life for civilians a nightmare," the French leader was quoted by the daily Le Figaro as saying.

France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine are due to meet in Minsk on Wednesday to see how to set into motion a Franco-German peace deal.

On the eve of negotiations, violence escalated in east Ukraine where at least nine people were killed and 25 others were wounded.