The Ukrainian government is ready to use all tools available to restore order if the opposition creates an impasse and unrest continues, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Thursday.
Azarov told Reuters the government had no plans to introduce a state of emergency: "We don't see the need for tough and extreme measures at the moment... But don't put the government into an impasse," he said.
"People should not think that the government lacks available resources to put an end to this. It is our constitutional right and obligation to restore order in the country."
This as, clashes continued through the night into early Thursday morning in Kiev, as anti-government protesters kept barricades burning in the capital to fend off security forces.
Thick black smoke from the burning tires filled the streets as several thousand protesters continued to face off with riot police, after Ukrainian opposition leaders urged tens of thousands of demonstrators in a nearby square to refrain from violence for the next 24 hours.
Ukrainian opposition leaders issued a stark ultimatum to President Viktor Yanukovych on Wednesday to call early elections within 24 hours or face more popular rage, after at least two protesters were killed in confrontations with police.
Some 40-thousand protesters camped out in Kiev's Independence Square, also known as the Maidan, have been told by opposition leaders to stay there while the ultimatum is in play.
The protesters' deaths, the first since the largely peaceful protests started in November, were a grim escalation in the two-month long political crisis.
It is feared that the daily demonstrations aimed at bringing down the government over its decision to shun the European Union for closer ties to Moscow and over human rights violations could turn more violent.
Yanukovych has showed little willingness to compromise, however.
The government has handed security forces extra powers, including closing off streets and firing water cannon against protesters despite the freezing temperatures.
Police have already used water cannon but insisted it was only to put out fires.
The government also deployed an armored personnel carrier at the site of the clashes.
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The White House on Thursday condemned the violence taking place in Kiev, urged all sides to de-escalate, and threatened sanctions against Ukraine if the situation there did not improve.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told a briefing that the tensions in the country were a direct result of the government failing to acknowledge the "legitimate" grievances of its people.
The United States urged the Ukraine government to repeal anti-democratic legislation that was recently signed into law, Carney said.
AP/REUTERS