Fresh fighting broke out in central Kiev on Thursday, shattering a truce declared by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, as the Russian-backed leader met European ministers demanding he compromise with pro-EU opponents.
A Reuters photographer saw the bodies of 21 dead civilians in Independence Square, a few hundred meters (yards) from where the president met the EU delegation, after protesters who have occupied the area for almost three months hurled petrol bombs and paving stones to drive riot police out of the plaza.
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland were due to report back to EU colleagues in Brussels later on Thursday who will decide on possible targeted sanctions against those deemed responsible for the bloodshed. . .