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By Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said he reached agreement with opposition leaders on a "truce" to halt fighting that has killed 26 people, even as the United States stepped up pressure by imposing travel bans on 20 senior Ukrainian officials. A statement on the presidential website announced an accord for "the start to negotiations with the aim of ending bloodshed, and stabilizing the situation in the state in the interest of social peace." Responding cautiously, U.S. President Barack Obama deemed the truce a "welcome step forward," but said the White House would continue to monitor the situation closely to "ensure that actions mirror words." "My hope is at this point that a truce may hold but ... ultimately the government is responsible for making sure that we shift toward some sort of unity government, even if it's temporary, that allows us to move to fair and free elections so that the will of the Ukrainian people can be rightly expressed without the kinds of chaos we've seen on the streets," Obama told a news conference in Mexico after a North American summit.More...