Ukrainian opposition leaders and President Viktor Yanukovich have announced a truce, after two days of battling in the streets of Kiev and beyond that have left at least 26 people dead.  It came after a crisis meeting of the government and opposition leaders as fires and fighting raged outside.

Opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk said, “After today's meeting we can safely affirm that (the security forces) will not disperse our Maidan,” referring to the opposition encampment in Kiev's Independence Square.  “The main thing is preserving human life.”

Yatsenyuk and the other two main opposition figures; former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko and far-right nationalist Oleh Tyahnibok; reportedly convinced Yanukovich that an attempt to clear the square by force would have resulted in numerous deaths.  A statement on the presidential website confirmed they had agreed to start “negotiations” aimed at ending the bloodshed of the last two days.

But fires continue to rage around the protest camp in Independence Square, and there’s no indication that radical elements among the protesters would observe the truce or even accept negotiations.  And violence is reported beyond the capital. 

A woman was shot and seriously wounded during the occupation of a government building in the western city of Khmelnitsky.  Other buildings were seized in Lviv.  And in Lutsk, protesters handcuffed the regional governor, a Yanukovich appointee, and tied him on a central square after he refused to resign.