Witnesses reported live rounds, petrol bombs and water cannon at the main protest site, Independence Square.
A meeting between EU foreign ministers and President Viktor Yanukovych is now under way, officials say, contradicting earlier reports that the ministers had flown out without seeing him.
The EU will discuss sanctions later.
Eyewitnesses quoted by international news agencies say they have counted at least 17, and as many as 21 bodies.
The BBC’s Kevin Bishop, in Kiev, saw five dead bodies in the reception area of the Hotel Ukraine, which all foreign media in the city are using as a base.
Several dozen protesters are using the lobby as a triage centre for wounded, and a priest arrived a short time ago, our correspondent says.
Protesters – some of them armed – have been asking hotel guests for blankets to use as bandages.
Earlier, two armoured vehicles were seen in the street leading towards Independence Square, also known as the Maidan, the centre of the protests in Kiev.
A statement on the presidential website blames the opposition for starting the violence, saying the “calls for a truce and dialogue were nothing but a way for playing for time to mobilise and arm militants from Maidan”.
The foreign ministers of Germany, Poland and France are meeting Mr Yanukovych.
The talks were moved from their original location, for security reasons, officials said, and were at first reported cancelled.
A full meeting of EU foreign ministers and EU foreign police envoy Catherine Ashton will take place later on Thursday.
Sanctions on Ukraine are likely to be discussed, including a possible ban on sales of equipment that can be used for internal repression.
Thursday has been declared a day of mourning for the dead.
Most of the victims died during clashes on Tuesday – the bloodiest day since the unrest erupted in late November.
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