Kyiv has condemned local elections that are under way in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
Moscow controls around one-fifth of its neighbour's territory: the Crimea peninsula it annexed in 2014 and parts of the Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Voting was due to take place on 10 September as part of polls held in several Russian regions to elect governors, local parliaments and municipal councils.
But occupation authorities in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia organised early elections from today, while voting in Kherson and Lugansk will open on Saturday.
No real opposition is standing as the authorities lead a crackdown on critical voices that intensified after the conflict in Ukraine began in February last year, with leading figures in jail or exile.
In September 2022, Russia annexed the Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions despite not fully controlling any of them following referendums that Kyiv and its Western allies branded as shams.
Fighting in those areas is still raging as Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive launched in June along a vast front of almost 1,000km.
After weeks of grinding combat, Kyiv is hoping for a major breakthrough in the Zaporizhzhia region where it recaptured the village of Robotyne this week.
Helicopter crashes kill six Ukraine troops
Six Ukrainian soldiers have died after two military helicopters crashed on a combat mission in the country's east, according to state investigators.
The crashes took place on Tuesday in the Kramatorsk district of the eastern Donetsk region.
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) did not give details on the exact circumstances of what happened.
"Two Mi-8 military helicopters crashed during a combat mission. Six servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine died," the SBI said in a statement.
It added that a pre-trial investigation by the Security Intelligence Service would provisionally focus on possible safety breaches during or in preparation for the flight, which would be classed as a criminal offence.
The inquiry will also look into "possible sabotage or destruction of the helicopters by the enemy", the SBI said.
It said investigators would examine data from flight recorders and check the helicopters' technical condition.
Mi-8 military helicopters are being used by Ukraine in combat missions, although the Soviet-designed aircraft are generally used for transport. Each helicopter has a crew of three.
Many of Ukraine's Mi-8 helicopters are decades old, but it has received donations of more modern attack helicopters from allies.
Belarus leader criticises calls for Wagner withdrawal
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has criticised Poland and the Baltic states for requesting that the Wagner fighters who moved to Belarus after a short-lived rebellion this summer leave the country.
"They are whipping up hysteria about the presence of Wagner private military employees on our territory.
"They have reached the point where they are already demanding their immediate withdrawal from Belarus," Mr Lukashenko said, adding these were "unreasonable and stupid demands."
