Ukraine is marking 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.
Pro-Russian rebels in the eastern city of Donetsk - the scene of the heaviest fighting - say they will hold their own parade and display captured soldiers.
Four months of fighting in the east have 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.
On Saturday Kiev marked the Day of the National Flag. Sunday's independence events include a parade involving military hardware and several hundred service personnel.
A naval parade is being held in the port of Odessa.
These are the first military parades since 2009, when the previous pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, abolished them.
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 say the show of strength is 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.
The events come a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged both sides in the conflict to strive for a new ceasefire.
She cautioned that Russia - already subjected to punishing EU and US sanctions over its alleged interference in Ukraine - could face further punitive measures.
Her visit to Kiev took place as lorries from an unauthorised Russian aid convoy which had crossed into eastern Ukraine returned to Russia.
Western officials fear the trucks may have held military equipment to help the rebels, but Russia said they had delivered generators, food and drink.
The violence in the east erupted when pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared independence from Kiev, after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.
Key negotiations between President Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin and EU officials are due to take place in Minsk on Tuesday.
Are you in Ukraine? Have you been affected by the unrest? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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