PARIS, Aug 12 (BBC/Reuters): European leaders have warned against Ukrainian borders being redrawn by force - two days before a US-Russia summit on Ukraine is due to take place in Alaska.
In a statement, European leaders said "the people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their future".
It added the principles of "territorial integrity" must be respected and "international borders must not be changed by force".
The statement was signed by 26 of 27 leaders. Missing from the signatories was Hungary's leader Viktor Orban, who has maintained friendly relations with Russia and has repeatedly tried to block European Union support for Ukraine.
The statement underscored the nervousness felt by Europeans about Moscow's actions in Ukraine, which many countries - particularly those bordering Russia or those in which the memory of Soviet occupation still lingers - believe could pose a direct threat in the near future.
Russian forces have made a sudden thrust into eastern Ukraine near the mining town of Dobropillia in a move that may be designed to increase the pressure on Ukraine to cede land as the US and Russian presidents prepare to meet.
Ukraine's authoritative DeepState war map showed on Tuesday that Russian forces had quickly advanced up to 10km (six miles) north in two prongs in recent days, part of their drive to take full control of Ukraine's Donetsk region.
DeepState said they had advanced near three villages on a section of the frontline associated with the two key Ukrainian strongholds of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine when they meet in Alaska on Friday. Unconfirmed media reports say Putin has told Trump he wants Ukraine to hand over the part of the Donetsk region that Russia does not control.
There was no immediate comment on the battlefield development from Moscow. Ukrainian military spokesperson Viktor Trehubov said only small groups were penetrating defensive lines, and this did not amount to a breakthrough.
Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, said the situation had escalated rapidly, with Russian forces infiltrating past Ukrainian lines.
