French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday issued a strong statement condemning police violence against protesters in Ukraine and calling for an immediate halt to the use of force, and also urging punitive sanctions against Ukrainian leaders, official sources said. At least 25 people were killed in clashes in the capital, Kiev, overnight as riot police sought to clear the city's central square of protesters who have taken control of the area and some government buildings for several weeks. Hollande on Wednesday immediately called President Donald Tusk of Poland to discuss the situation and both men agreed "on the need for rapid and targeted European sanctions against the principals responsible for these acts." Hollande "condemned the unacceptable police violence and called for an immediate halt to this," his office said in a statement. Hollande's office said that the French and Polish leaders agreed that the decisions on sanctions against Ukrainian officials should be ready for implementation at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting taking place Thursday in Brussels.