Ukraine is to mark its independence day with a military parade in Kiev as fighting continues in the east.
The parade will feature hundreds of marching servicemen and military hardware. Critics say that it is inappropriate when Ukraine is at war, reports GHN based on BBC.
Pro-Russian rebels in the eastern city of Donetsk - the scene of the heaviest fighting - say they will hold their own parade featuring imprisoned soldiers.
Four months of fighting in the east has left more than 2,000 people dead.
More than 330,000 people have fled their homes.
The bodies of six civilians, including a child, were witnessed by an AFP correspondent in Donetsk on Saturday.
Morale booster?
The conflict continues as Ukraine marks the 23rd anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union.
Events which include a parade involving military hardware and several hundred service personnel are due to start in Kiev at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT). A naval parade will be held in the port of Odessa.
They are the first military parades since the previous pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, abolished them in 2009.
A prayer will be said and wreaths laid for those who have died for an independent Ukraine, including those killed during protests against Mr Yanukovych in Kiev last winter.
Supporters say the parade should boost army morale but critics have questioned any show of strength as a waste of money and inappropriate when people are dying in the east.
Meanwhile security officials quoted by Ukrainian media said that five people accused of planning attacks on bases for pro-government volunteers in the Kiev area, timed to coincide with the celebrations, have been arrested.
In Donetsk, rebels put on display two destroyed armoured personnel carriers, and there are plans to parade prisoners of war through the streets.