Kiev and Moscow have blamed each other for a surge in fighting in eastern Ukraine that has led to the highest casualty toll in weeks and to power and water being cut off for thousands of civilians on the frontline.

The Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatists accused each other of launching offensives, including the use of heavily artillery, in the government-held industrial town of Avdiivka in defiance of the two-year-old Minsk ceasefire deal.

Eight Ukrainian troops have been killed and 26 wounded since fighting intensified on Sunday, the heaviest losses for the military since mid-December, according to government figures.

“The current escalation in Donbass is a clear indication of Russia’s continued, blatant disregard of its commitments under the Minsk agreements with a view of preventing the stabilisation of the situation,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The peace deal was agreed in February 2015, but international security monitors reported daily violations of the ceasefire, including regular gun and mortar fire.

The latest clashes mark the first significant escalation in Ukraine since the inauguration of Donald Trump. The new US president’s call for better relations with Moscow, while the conflict in eastern Ukraine remains unresolved, has alarmed Kiev.

Ukrainian authorities said they were prepared for a possible evacuation of Avdiivka’s 16,000 residents, many of whom have little or no access to utilities after shelling hit the supply infrastructure.

The Ukraine delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross tweeted that there was no water, electricity or heating in the town and the temperature was -18C (0F). “Hostilities continue and people start to lose hope,” it added.

On Tuesday, Russia’s foreign ministry said Ukrainian government troops had launched deadly offensives on rebel positions and warned that the region was “on the verge of humanitarian and ecological catastrophe”.

Earlier, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, accused the Ukrainian authorities of organising the attacks as a ruse to try to distract attention from domestic and other problems.

Almost 10,000 people have been killed since fighting between Ukrainian troops and rebels seeking independence from Kiev erupted in April 2014.

Ukraine and Nato have accused the Kremlin of supporting the rebels with troops and weapons. The US and EU have imposed sanctions on Russia over the conflict, as well as for its annexation of Crimea.