REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KIEV - At least 21 civilians were killed in fresh fighting in Kiev on Thursday, shattering an overnight truce declared by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, and a presidential statement said dozens of police were also dead or wounded.

Activists hurling petrol bombs and paving stones drove riot police off a corner of the central Independence Square, known as the Maidan, and appeared to capture several uniformed officers. Police responded with stun grenades.

The clashes erupted shortly before three visiting European foreign ministers were due to meet the Russian-backed Yanukovich to push for a compromise with his pro-European opponents. The meeting was delayed for security reasons but began an hour late. A Reuters photographer counted 21 bodies in civilian clothes in three places on the square, a few hundred meters (yards) from the presidency. That raised the death toll since Tuesday to at least 43, by far the bloodiest hours of Ukraine's 22-year post-Soviet history.

A statement from Yanukovich's office said: "They (the protesters) went on to the offensive. They are working in organized groups. They are using firearms, including sniper rifles. They are shooting to kill.

"The number of dead and injured among police officers is dozens," the statement on the presidential website said.

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