Ukraine's president says a tentative deal has been clinched to end a three-month standoff with opposition protesters after a day of raging violence left dozens of people dead and turned the heart of Kiev into a war zone.
After marathon talks with President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders, the European Union confirmed that a "temporary" agreement was due to be signed on Friday in what would be a major step forward in ending the worst crisis since Ukraine's independence.
At least 60 people were killed in fierce clashes in Kiev's Independence Square on Thursday, with police opening fire on protesters, while opposition medics said government snipers picked off demonstrators from rooftops.
Three EU foreign ministers and a Russian envoy flew in for emergency talks on Thursday as the international community voiced increasing alarm about the crisis in the former Soviet state.
"The parties agreed on the initialling of an agreement to resolve the crisis," the presidency said in a statement following a day and night of negotiations between Yanukovych and envoys from Poland, Germany, Russia and France.
"The signing is expected at 12:00 (2100 AEDT)" it said, without giving specific details.
Under the expected terms of the pact, the country would revert back to the 2004 constitution, which would give more power to the parliament and government, and less to the president.
A coalition government would also be formed soon and early presidential polls held - all key opposition demands.
There was no immediate confirmation of a deal from any of the country's top three opposition leaders.
But a senior EU diplomat involved in the negotiations said a "temporary agreement" was expected on Friday.
The crisis in Ukraine flared up in November when Yanukovych rejected an EU integration deal in favour of closer ties with historical master Russia, angering pro-EU parts of the population, who rose up in protest.
The demonstrations had been largely peaceful, except for a brief outbreak of violence at the end of January, but the situation descended into deadly mayhem on Tuesday.
Protesters had marched on parliament in a 20,000-strong peaceful rally aimed at pressuring the government into agreeing to their demands, but the movement descended into violence that lasted throughout the day and night.
Kiev authorities have put the death toll of the past few days at 77, but opposition medics say more than 60 protesters were shot dead by police on Thursday alone, which would make the toll considerably higher.
