What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The scale of violent destruction being wrought on the Ukrainian capital Kiev is made plain in these pictures, showing the shocking before-and-after scenes.

Months of tensions have culminated this week in three days of deadly clashes between riot police and anti-government protesters.

There was hope that the bloodshed would stop last night, when President Viktor Yanukovich agreed a 48-hour truce with opposition activists.

But this was soon broken, with violence flaring again this morning, and the death toll has now reached at least 50 - almost double what it had been just 12 hours earlier.

Media on the ground in Kiev's Independence Square say they saw the bodies of 21 dead civilians, after snipers reportedly opened fire when protesters began hurling petrol bombs and paving stones to drive riot police from the plaza.

A Ukrainian presidential statement said dozens of police officers had also been killed or wounded during the opposition's offensive.

The Health Ministry later said two police officers were among the dead today, raising the official death toll to 51.

As these images show, the scene of the clashes Independence Square is almost unrecognisable from what it was.

The Trade Unions building, where many of the demonstrators were holed up earlier in the week, has been almost completely destroyed by fire.

And the square's central monument - previously surrounded by a fountain where workers and tourists could sit and enjoy the sun - is now seen charred and black, covered in debris and ash.

The monument itself can be seen surrounded by fire, as a protester hurls a rock towards riot police with shields.

And aerial views of the square show fires smouldering among the wreckage of trashed barricades.

President Yanukovich is meeting with European ministers today, who will demand that he compromise with his pro-EU opponents.

If agreements are not reached, EU leaders could decide on sanctions against those deemed responsible for the bloodshed.