Ukrainian authorities say they have closed three checkpoints on the border with Russia after nightly assaults by separatists.
The move came as the government vowed to beef up its security presence to counter pro-Russian rebels, amid reports of continued fighting in the country's east.
The three checkpoints, all in the volatile Lugansk region, were targeted in attacks by pro-Russian rebels overnight Wednesday to Thursday, the border guards said in a statement.
"After an exchange of fire, the threat to the lives of people crossing the border prompted the evacuation of civilians and borderguards at the checkpoints," the border guards said in a statement.
The statement added that the three checkpoints - at Chervonopartyzansk, Dolzhansky and Chervona Mogyla - had been temporarily closed, and that the Russian side had been notified.
Ukraine's border guards have been especially targeted in recent rebel attacks, and had to abandon their regional headquarters in the city of Lugansk after an insurgent onslaught on Monday.
Insurgents fighting for an independent "People's Republic" remain in control of large parts of eastern Ukraine, and officials reported continued sporadic small arms fire on Thursday.
"The night passed relatively quietly. According to residents in the village of Shyroke, gunshots could be heard," the government of Donetsk, the region's main city, said in a statement.
Donetsk, home to about one million people, has been reduced to a state of near-anarchy following heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels around its international airport.
The fighting has left about 40 dead, mainly separatists, according to reports, and the airport will remain closed at least until the end of the month, as the security of flights cannot be guaranteed.
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