Pro-Western Ukrainians on Sunday held the biggest protest rally in Kiev since the 2004 Orange Revolution, urging the government to sign a historic pact with the European Union and clashing with police.

Tens of thousands filled the Square of Europe in central Kiev to demonstrate against the decision of President Viktor Yanukovych's government to scrap a plan to sign an Association Agreement that would have deepened ties with the European Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday it was the European Union and not Russia that was putting pressure on Ukraine, after the ex-Soviet country scrapped plans to sign a key trade deal with the bloc.

"We've heard threats from our European partners against Ukraine -- up to the point of helping them stage mass protests," Putin said, seeking to counter EU accusations that Ukraine ditched the deal after pressure from the Kremlin.

Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko on Friday urged supporters to take to the streets in protest at the government's scrapping of a plan to sign a key trade deal with the European Union.

She also warned her nemesis, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych against making the "mistake of his life," saying signing the agreement with the EU was his only chance to survive in politics.

Ukraine on Friday faced accusations from the West it had bowed to Russian pressure and missed a historic opportunity after the government scrapped plans to sign a deal to deepen ties with the European Union.

Hundreds of pro-EU Ukrainians turned out late at night on Independence Square in the capital Kiev to protest the decision, with opposition leaders calling for a mass rally on Sunday which they hope will muster 100,000 people.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Thursday that Ukraine's decision to suspend talks on a historic agreement with the EU was a "missed opportunity" but said London remained committed to the country's future ties with Europe.

"This is a missed opportunity," Hague said in a statement, but added: "The door remains open and signature is in Ukraine's hands."

Ukraine on Thursday ordered the halt of preparations to sign a trade and political agreement with the European Union this month, effectively ending the chance of clinching the historic deal in the near future.

The decree issued by the government came after lawmakers again failed to agree legislation that would free jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and was a key condition set by EU leaders for the signing of the Association Agreement.

The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday voted against bills that would free jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, dealing a potentially fatal blow to its chances of signing a historic trade deal with the EU at a summit this month.

Watched by special EU envoys Aleksander Kwasniewski and Pat Cox, the Verkhovna Rada rejected all six bills that had been put forward on the treatment of convicts abroad after they failed to gain the support of President Viktor Yanukovych's ruling Regions Party.

The EU's executive gave its green light Friday to visa-free travel for Moldova's 3.5 million people but said Ukraine and Georgia needed to make more progress before lifting their visa requirements.

The European Commission said in a statement that it would consider immediately after a summit in Vilnius at the end of November "presenting a legislative proposal to lift visa requirements for Moldovan citizens holding a biometric passport."

Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday ended an extraordinary session without agreeing on a bill to free jailed ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko, seen as key for a deal with the European Union.

Verkhovna Rada speaker Volodymyr Rybak declared the session closed to cries of "shame!" from deputies after a parliamentary working group of the ruling Regions Party and opposition failed to agree a joint text for the bill.

A planned deal between Ukraine and the European Union was hanging in the balance Tuesday after President Viktor Yanukovych made a mysterious trip to Moscow and the authorities opened a probe against the lawyer of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko, whose release is key to the EU agreeing to sign the deal with Ukraine, accused Yanukovych of "kicking to death" Kiev's EU aspirations ahead of a crucial parliament meeting Wednesday.