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Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said Friday that a ceasefire due to go into effect over the weekend between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine is in "big danger."

Fighting continued ahead of the cessation of the bitter 10-month-long conflict that has killed more than 5,000 people and strained East-West relations.

The peace plan hammered out Thursday during marathon four-way talks in Minsk, Belarus, had raised hopes of an end to the fighting.

But Poroshenko said that after the agreement reached by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, the offensive against Ukrainian troops by pro-Russian separatists had intensified.

"This is not just an attack on Ukrainian civilians, this is an attack of the Minsk results," he said in Kiev, adding the peace plan is in "big danger."

The ceasefire agreement comes with many questions over how it will be implemented and whether it will stick.

The first test will be whether the guns fall silent when the ceasefire comes into force at midnight local time Saturday to Sunday.

Both sides are expected to start pulling back their heavy weapons from the front lines as of Monday, creating a buffer zone at least 50 kilometers (31 miles) wide.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which already has a monitoring mission in Ukraine, has been given the challenging task of overseeing the process.

"We need to have an effective ceasefire," said OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, at a media briefing. "So I'm already concerned that we are seeing this morning a continuation of hostilities."

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Ukraine President: Ceasefire in 'big danger'