Russian forces continue to creep closer to the strategic eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk amid a surge in diplomacy to end Europe's biggest war in decades.
According to the Deep State online war-mapping platform, Russian troops on December 12 were as close as 3 kilometers from the southern part of Pokrovsk, a key logistical junction for Ukraine as well as home to the country's only domestic coking-coal supplier.
"Unconventional decisions must be made to enhance the resilience of our defense and ensure more effective destruction of the occupiers," General Oleksandr Syrskiy, Ukraine's top commander, wrote in a post on Facebook.
"The battles are exceptionally fierce. The Russians are throwing all available forces forward, attempting to break through our defenses."
SEE ALSO: Ukraine Live Briefing: North Koreans Suffer Major Losses In Kursk, Says ZelenskiyFor months the area has seen some of the fiercest battles in Russia's 33-month-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who visited the front lines in the Zaporizhzhya region on December 12, has called for reinforcements amid signs of Ukrainian positions being overwhelmed by Russia's advantage in manpower.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Serhiy Filimonov, the commander of the 108th battalion Da Vinci Wolves, warned the main reason for losses as Russia heads in the direction of Pokrovsk was "unrealistic tasks" for troops in the region given the current numbers.
The intensification of fighting on the battlefield comes as both sides look to strengthen their positions amid signs of a potential ceasefire and peace talks in the coming months.
Flurry Of Diplomacy
Foreign ministers from France, Germany, and Poland met in Berlin on December 12 to discusses aid to Ukraine while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country has been a staunch supporter of neighboring Ukraine, hosted French President Emmanuel Macron for talks in Warsaw about postwar steps.
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Ukrainians Skeptical About War With Russia Ending Soon
Leaders from across Europe are looking to show U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on January 20, that they are willing to assume their share of the burden to end the almost three-year war in Ukraine.
Trump has claimed he could end the war in 24 hours, raising concern he could force Ukraine to concede territory to Russia among other concessions, endangering EU security.
In a so-called Berlin Declaration, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as the EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, outlined their continued support for Kyiv.
"We are committed to providing Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees, including reliable long-term provision of military and financial support," the declaration said.
The meeting in Berlin was organized by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
"Convinced that peace in Ukraine and security in Europe are inseparable, we are determined to stand united with our European and transatlantic partners to think and act big on European security," the declaration added.
Baerbock and Kallas did not answer questions about the participation of German or European soldiers in a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.
Following his meeting with Macron, Tusk said Poland has no plans to send troops to Ukraine.
A Polish media outlet reported on the eve of the meeting that Tusk and Macron would discuss the possibility of sending a 40,000-strong peacekeeping force to Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reported on December 12 that Trump told Macron and Zelenskiy during a meeting in Paris last weekend that he wants Europe to shoulder the burden of peace in Ukraine, including supplying the peacekeepers.
Trump told the leaders he would offer support for the Europe-led cease-fire effort but would not put U.S. troops in Ukraine. Nor does he support Ukraine in NATO, he told them, the paper reported.
Zelenskiy has repeatedly called for strong security guarantees, including NATO membership, saying Russia would otherwise not be deterred from invading again.
Tusk and Macron, who met before the EU ministers gathered, reiterated that any peace deal in Ukraine must include the Ukrainians.
"We will work with France on a solution that will, above all, protect Europe and Ukraine," Tusk said.
The Polish prime minister said two days earlier that peace talks could start "in the winter," as Warsaw prepares to assume the European Union's rotating presidency on January 1.