At least 17 dead after renewed clashes in Kiev

European Union leaders say they were urgently preparing targeted sanctions against those responsible for a crackdown on the protesters in Independence Square.EU foreign ministers have called an emergency meeting on Ukraine for Thursday.After a meeting with France’s President François Hollande in Paris, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU will discuss sanctions that will show it is serious about wanting a political solution. “But sanctions alone are not enough,” said Merkel, adding that it was necessary to talk to both the opposition and the government to help bring peace to Ukraine. Hollande said there had been: “Unspeakable, unacceptable, intolerable acts.”Earlier European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: “We have … made it clear that the EU will respond to any deterioration on the ground. 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.”That comes as Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich warned his opponents on Wednesday that he could deploy force against them after what he called their attempt to “seize power” by means of “arson and murder”.In a statement posted online in the early hours as hardline demonstrators fought riot police in central Kyiv, Yanukovich stressed he had refrained from violence since unrest began and had persistently offered dialogue and possible elections. But he said he was being pressed by advisers to take a harder line.Ukraine’s anti-government protesters are holding out in Independence Square after the bloodiest day and night since the former Soviet republic won its independence.At least 26 people have been killed, including one journalist. The Health Ministry and police said 10 police officers had been killed. Hundreds of people are said to have been injured.Police gained ground amid fierce clashes but have not yet succeeded in clearing the square, the focal point of a three-month-long protest movement.[View the story “Ukraine live: sanctions “probable” says french FM” on Storify]