KIEV: Ukraine's opposition plan a mysterious “peaceful offensive” at a new mass protest on Sunday to put pressure on authorities, as negotiations to exit the crisis appear to have stalled.

Anti-government protesters have occupied Kiev's central Independence Square for almost three months after President Viktor Yanukovych rejected a key EU trade pact in favour of closer ties with Russia.

And while the movement shows no sign of dying down, with protesters rebuilding and fortifying barricades to keep riot police out of their anti-government enclave, impatience is gaining hold.

“The main issue which will be addressed (at the Sunday protest) will be a peaceful offensive by activists so

that the demonstrators' requirements be fulfilled,” the party of jailed opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko said in a statement late Thursday. It did not detail what form this “peaceful offensive” would take.

The crisis in Ukraine continued to stoke wider, geopolitical tensions between Russia and Western countries on Friday, with Moscow accusing the European Union of trying to extend its “sphere of influence” in the country.

The mass demonstration in the Ukrainian capital will be the 11th since the protest movement erupted in November, and will kick off at midday (1000 GMT) at the heart of the sprawling, barricaded tent city on Independence Square.

It will come a day ahead of the much-anticipated Monday deadline for an amnesty offer made by Yanukovych. Also on Monday, Ukraine's opposition leaders are expected to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.—AFP