Protesters in Ukraine are braced for a fresh assault by riot police in central Kiev after a day of clashes left at least 25 people dead in the worst violence since the start of Ukraine's three-month political crisis.
Since early morning protesters have been hurling paving stones and Molotov cocktails at lines of riot police in Independence Square.
Swathes of the tent encampment have already been destroyed.
Sinéad Spain reports;
The surge in violence, in the country torn between a future allied to the West and to Russia, sparked alarm in Europe and the United States.
But a defiant President Viktor Yanukovych rejected calls to halt the ferocious assault on the bloodiest day since protests broke out in November, when he ditched a pact with the European Union in favour of closer ties with former master Russia.
In an address to the nation as clashes raged, he said the opposition had gone too far and accused them of trying to oust him.
"The leaders of the opposition have disregarded the principle of democracy according to which we obtain power through elections and not on the street ... they have crossed the limits by calling for people to take up arms," he said, adding those responsible would face the law.
US Vice President Joe Biden has phoned Yanukovych to express his concern and urge him to "pull back government forces and to exercise maximum restraint."
While EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was "deeply worried about the grave new escalation."
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for restraint and dialogue, while German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the violence could lead to EU sanctions against those responsible.
