Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych accepted the resignation of the prime minister and his whole cabinet .

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov had offered his resignation in order to encourage what he called "social-political compromise."

Mr Azarov's resignation was accepted by President Viktor Yanukovych, who asked him to stay until a successor was agreed.

And, in a surprise move, the full cabinet followed Mr Azarov into resigning.

Mr Yanukovych offered the premiership last week to top opposition figure Arseniy Yatsenyuk but Mr Yatsenyuk turned it down on Monday.

The prime minister's resignation offer was timed to coincide with the parliament opening a special session that repealed anti-protest laws which had set off violent clashes between protesters and police when they were put in place earlier this month.

The resignations remove several opposition targets and the repealing of the anti-protest laws blunted an aggravating factor in the crisis.

But they still stop well short of opposition demands, which include Mr Yanukovych's resignation and new elections.

Protesters are insistent on his removal, but the president bluntly refuses to leave.

The opposition also wants amnesty for scores of people arrested in the protests.

However Mr Yanukovych said on Monday that such an amnesty was possible only if demonstrators agreed to clear the streets and vacate the buildings they now occupy.

That condition could be unacceptable to a large segment of the demonstrators.

Also unresolved is the issue that originally set off the protests - Mr Yanukovych's shelving in November of a long-awaited agreement to deepen ties with the European Union in favour of a deal with Russia.

The protests have spread across Ukraine in recent days and official buildings in several cities have been occupied by opposition groups.

The Interior Ministry reported that three protesters had stabbed and wounded three policemen in the southern city of Kherson, one of whom later died.

In total at least five people have been killed in violence linked to the protests.