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Protesters in Ukraine's capital Kiev have been erecting new barricades
after crisis talks between the opposition and President Viktor
Yanukovych stalled.
New barricades went up overnight
Freezing demonstrators at the camp on the city's Independence Square also occupied a government building as a truce with riot police continued.
A stand-off with protesters is under way outside the governor's office in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
The EU's enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fuele, is due to visit Kiev.
France and Germany both summoned the local Ukrainian ambassadors on Friday to discuss the violence.
The crisis deepened this week when the first deaths in the unrest were reported.
Two protesters were shot during rioting in the Independence Square area. An activist was found dead in woods near Kiev after apparently being abducted, tortured and left to die in the snow.
Ministry occupied
As masked activists stood guard in Kiev, some carrying riot shields captured from the police as trophies, hundreds of protesters could be seen stacking sandbags filled with snow and car tyres in the Independence Square area.
New barricades took shape closer to the presidential administration building, Reuters news agency reports.
One group of protesters took control of the main agricultural ministry building, reportedly meeting no resistance.
"We need to keep people warm in the frost," protester Andriy Moiseenko was quoted as saying by the Associated Press, as temperatures dipped towards minus 16C.
Ministry workers were allowed to take their possessions but not permitted to go to work.
Protesters said they had moved into the building to get out of the cold and to rest
Outside, protesters stood guard
Former boxer Vitaly Klitschko, one of the opposition leaders
who met Mr Yanukovych, came back on Thursday evening saying the
president had made no concessions.
"Hours of conversation were spent about nothing," he said.
The opposition had been calling for harsh new anti-protest laws to be repealed, a snap presidential election and the resignation of the government.
Another opposition leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said talks would continue but gave no details.
The unrest has spread to opposition strongholds in the west and north of the country
Appeal for restraint
Justice Minister Olena Lukash also said further talks would take place, without saying when.
Mr Klitschko, Mr Yatsenyuk and fellow opposition leader Oleh Tyahnybok failed to condemn "extremist actions" at the talks, she added.
Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko issued a statement guaranteeing that police would not take action against the protest camp on Independence Square.
He urged police officers to "exercise restraint and not to react to petty provocations".
Earlier, his ministry apologised after video footage emerged showing police humiliating a protester in custody, who was made to walk around naked in the snow.
During his visit to Kiev, Mr Fuele is due to meet both opposition and government representatives.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the Ukrainian ambassador was being summoned in a "gesture to show France's condemnation".
In Berlin, German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters: "We want to show that we are serious with our criticism."
New barricades went up overnightFreezing demonstrators at the camp on the city's Independence Square also occupied a government building as a truce with riot police continued.
A stand-off with protesters is under way outside the governor's office in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
The EU's enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fuele, is due to visit Kiev.
Mr Fuele played a key role in negotiating the
EU's proposed partnership deal, which President Yanukovych ditched in
November in favour of stronger ties with Russia, thereby sparking the
current street protests.
France and Germany both summoned the local Ukrainian ambassadors on Friday to discuss the violence.
The crisis deepened this week when the first deaths in the unrest were reported.
Two protesters were shot during rioting in the Independence Square area. An activist was found dead in woods near Kiev after apparently being abducted, tortured and left to die in the snow.
Ministry occupied
As masked activists stood guard in Kiev, some carrying riot shields captured from the police as trophies, hundreds of protesters could be seen stacking sandbags filled with snow and car tyres in the Independence Square area.
New barricades took shape closer to the presidential administration building, Reuters news agency reports.
One group of protesters took control of the main agricultural ministry building, reportedly meeting no resistance.
"We need to keep people warm in the frost," protester Andriy Moiseenko was quoted as saying by the Associated Press, as temperatures dipped towards minus 16C.
Ministry workers were allowed to take their possessions but not permitted to go to work.
A slogan inside the newly occupied agricultural policy ministry reads "Government for the people"
Protesters said they had moved into the building to get out of the cold and to rest
Outside, protesters stood guard
On Independence Square, snow covers the protesters' tents
"Hours of conversation were spent about nothing," he said.
The opposition had been calling for harsh new anti-protest laws to be repealed, a snap presidential election and the resignation of the government.
Another opposition leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said talks would continue but gave no details.
- In Ivano-Frankivsk, hundreds of protesters have gathered for the second day running, as riot police guard he governor's office
- Unrest has also been reported in Chernivtsi in the west, Sumy in the north-east and Lutsk in the north-west
- Clashes erupted in the central city of Cherkasy on Thursday evening as police drove protesters back from the governor's office
- Protesters seized the governors' offices in the cities of Lviv, Ternopil and Rivne on Thursday.
Appeal for restraint
Justice Minister Olena Lukash also said further talks would take place, without saying when.
Mr Klitschko, Mr Yatsenyuk and fellow opposition leader Oleh Tyahnybok failed to condemn "extremist actions" at the talks, she added.
Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko issued a statement guaranteeing that police would not take action against the protest camp on Independence Square.
He urged police officers to "exercise restraint and not to react to petty provocations".
Earlier, his ministry apologised after video footage emerged showing police humiliating a protester in custody, who was made to walk around naked in the snow.
During his visit to Kiev, Mr Fuele is due to meet both opposition and government representatives.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the Ukrainian ambassador was being summoned in a "gesture to show France's condemnation".
In Berlin, German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters: "We want to show that we are serious with our criticism."
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