Russian tanks have "destroyed virtually every house" in the town of Novosvitlivka near Luhansk, Ukraine's military has said, as the EU considers fresh sanctions against Russia.

Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the national security council, told journalists in Kiev that Russian tanks had entered the small Ukrainian town of Novosvitlivka on the border with Russia and fired on every house.

"We have information that virtually every house has been destroyed," Mr Lysenko added, without giving details on when the reported attack took place.

On Saturday, government troops said forces had pulled out of areas to the east of the border-area city of Luhansk because of pressure from rebels.

Mr Lysenko said Ukrainian forces had been surrounded by rebels in the town of Ilovaysk, about 12 miles east of the largest rebel-held city of Donetsk, for days.

"We are surrendering this city," Mr Lysenko told reporters. "Our task now is to evacuate our military with the least possible losses in order to regroup."

Earlier, the EU foreign policy chief called on Russia to “withdraw its forces from Ukraine” and to stop the flow of arms and personnel into the country.

Catherine Ashton expressed “deep concern” over "direct aggression by Russian forces" after a ministerial meeting in Milan.

Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Show all 11 1 /11 Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis An injured man hugs a woman as they sit in an ambulance after shelling in the main separatist stronghold of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Three civilians had been killed in shelling in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk, where Kiev's army is fighting pro-Russian separatists, AFP correspondents saw AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Local residents sit in a basement used as a shelter from artillery fire, in the settlement of Makiivka, on the outskirts of Donetsk. Artillery fire could be heard on Tuesday in Makiivka, on the eastern outskirts of the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Reuters reporters at the scene said REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Pro-Russian separatist troops run away from a burning car after Ukranian army shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine EPA/VALENTIN EGORSHIN Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Ukrainian soldiers park their hardware on roadside as they are waiting for the start of the march into the town of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. Heavy shelling hit a town of Novoazovsk in southeastern Ukraine on the third day of an assault that has forced government troops to spread their ranks thinner along the Russian border AP Photo/Sergei Grits Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis The body of a woman lies on the ground after a shelling in the main separatist stronghold Donetsk. Three bodies, identified by bystanders as members of the same family, were seen in a residential neighbourhood east of the city centre DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Ukrainian soldiers park their hardware on roadside as they are waiting for the start of the march in the town of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine AP Photo/Sergei Grits Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Armed pro-Russian separatists speak with local residents on a street in the settlement of Makiivka, on the outskirts of Donetsk REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis A car burns after Ukranian army shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on the sidelines of a summit in Minsk that he wanted to find a compromise to end the bloodshed that includes the interests of the people in eastern Ukraine EPA/VALENTIN EGORSHIN Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Local residents wait in a basement used as a shelter from artillery fire, in the settlement of Makiivka, on the outskirts of Donetsk REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis An armed pro-Russian separatist checks papers of a local resident on a street in the settlement of Makiivka REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis A paramedic assists an injured man after shelling in the main separatist stronghold of Donetsk. German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed for a new ceasefire in crisis talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as a controversial Russian convoy returned home DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images

Her comments came as Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko said his country is subject to "military aggression and terror" with thousands of Russian troops and hundreds of tanks in eastern Ukraine.

Kiev and the West have accused Russia of assisting the rebels throughout the conflict, a claim Moscow has consistently denied.

At a news conference in Brussels ahead of a European Union summit, Mr Poroshenko called for a strong EU response to counter increasingly fierce resistance from separatist rebels.

He told the conference: "There is a very high risk not only for peace and stability for Ukraine but for the whole peace and stability of Europe."

Speaking after talks with Mr Poroshenko, the EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned "Russia should not underestimate the European Union's will and resolve to stand by its principles and values", as the 28-nation bloc prepares to consider new sanctions against Moscow.

The conflict has so far claimed over 2,600 lives in Donetsk and Luhansk.

"The opening of new fronts and the use of Russian regular forces (on Ukrainian soil) is not acceptable and represents a grave transgression," Mr Barroso added.