European leaders have called on the Ukraine government to put an end to violence in the country after at least 25 people died.

French President Francois Holland end German Chancellor Angela Merkel recommended targeted sanctions against the eastern European nation following a joint government meeting in Paris on Wednesday.

Merkel said the sanctions should target those inflicting the ruction, raising pressure on Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich to take action. She also blamed Yanukovich's government for the violence.

Hollande said the riot was intolerable and those behind it should be reprimanded.

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said today the European Union (EU) would start the process of sanctioning those responsible for the unrest.

"We have also made it clear that the EU will respond to any deterioration on the ground," he said, according to the Financial Times.

"We therefore expect that targeted measures against those responsible for violence and use of excessive force can be agreed by our member states as a matter of urgency."

Last month Barroso secured a promise from Yanukovich that the government would go easy on protestors.

Yanukovich today warned opposition leaders backing the protest movement to "immediately disassociate themselves from radical forces which are provoking bloodshed".

He also accused European leaders of trying to seize power by force.

"Without any mandate from the people, illegally and in breach of the constitution of Ukraine, these politicians - if I may use that term - have resorted to pogroms, arson and murder to try to seize power," the president said, according to Reuters.

Ukrainian security services said they were launching an "anti-terrorist operation" across the country after the seizure of government buildings, arms and ammunition dumps by "extremist groups".

RD

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