Ukraine's capital Kiev
remains tense following a day of clashes between protesters and police
that left dozens of people dead and many wounded.
Activists at the main protest camp, the Maidan, have been manning the barricades overnight - but there were no reports of violence.
Crisis talks are continuing with suggestions that President Viktor Yanukovych may agree to snap elections.
The EU decided to impose sanctions on officials "responsible for violence".
In a statement on Thursday, EU foreign ministers said targeted sanctions against Ukrainian officials including asset freezes and visa bans would be introduced "as a matter of urgency".
The US has warned Kiev that it would follow suit.
Thursday was the bloodiest day since the unrest began in November, with many of the anti-government protesters were reportedly killed by police snipers.
In all, 77 people - including policemen - have been killed since the violence first flared up on Tuesday, Ukraine's health ministry said.
Another 577 were injured.
Protesters had captured 67 police, the interior ministry said. A number of them were later released by activists.
'Forces of peace v hawks'
On Thursday, the foreign ministers of France, Poland and Germany conducted several hours of discussions with Mr Yanukovych on a "roadmap towards a political solution" before going on to talks with opposition leaders.
They returned for another meeting with Mr Yanukovych in the evening and the talks continued late into the night.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Mr Yanukovych had expressed willingness to hold early elections this year.
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