President Vladimir Putin has issued an order to fast track Russian citizenship for residents in parts of southern Ukraine largely held by his forces, while legislators in Moscow passed a bill to strengthen the stretched Russian army.

Putin's decree applying to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions could allow Russia to strengthen its hold on territory that lies between eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists occupy some areas, and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the move by Moscow.

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"The decree of the president of Russia is legally null and void and will have no legal consequences. This decision will not affect the citizenship of Ukrainians on the territories temporarily occupied by Russia."

The Russian army is engaged in an intense battle for Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, known as the Donbas. In a sign that the Kremlin is trying to bolster its stretched military machine, Russian MPs agreed to scrap the age limit of 40 for individuals signing their first voluntary military contracts.

A description of the bill on the parliament website indicated older recruits would be allowed to operate precision weapons or serve in engineering or medical roles. The chair of the Russian parliament's defence committee, Andrei Kartapolov, said the measure would make it easier to hire people with "in-demand" skills.

Russian authorities have said that only volunteer contract soldiers are sent to fight in Ukraine, although they have acknowledged that some conscripts were drawn into the fighting by mistake in the early stages of the war.

Three months into Russia's invasion of the neighbouring country, Putin visited a military hospital in Moscow and met with some soldiers wounded in Ukraine, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.

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In other developments, Ukraine's president said that Russia must pull back to its pre-war positions as a first step before diplomatic talks, a negotiating line that Moscow is unlikely to agree to anytime soon as it focuses its fire on key regions in the east three months into the war.

Speaking by video link at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed a willingness to negotiate with Putin directly, but stressed that Moscow needs to make clear it too is ready to "shift from the bloody war to diplomacy."

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"It's possible if Russia shows at least something. When I say at least something, I mean pulling back troops to where they were before February 24," the day Russia's invasion began, he said. "I believe it would be a correct step for Russia to make."

Zelenskyy also made clear that Ukraine wants to drive Russian troops out of all captured areas.

On Christmas Day in 2017, Beck Webber, 48, fell down the stairs at home after losing her balance.

She needed major back surgery.

It was the culmination of a few years of unusual symptoms such as changes in her eyesight and voice, symptoms which the agricultural worker says were dismissed by medics.

But the accident finally led to a devastating diagnosis of a progressive neurodegenerative disease that multiple members of her family are so far the only ones in Australia to be diagnosed with.

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Doctors believe the mother of three has less than ten years to live.

"We liken it to being at the crossroads of having Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinson's and Multiple Sclerosis, with further complications at the same time," Webber said.

Webber, from Kinglake West, in Central Victoria, said the year before her fall, her father was told he had a condition called Spinocerebellar ataxia type 36.

It's a rare form of the cognitive condition ataxia.

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It affects the cerebellum, the part of the brain that's responsible for co-ordination, which includes everything from walking to swallowing.

He's now in a wheelchair, and his health is deteriorating.

Webber had to face the reality that she could have the devastating condition too.

When the results for her blood tests came back from the USA, where they had to be examined, her doctor phoned her.

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"She said to me, 'do you want someone with you?', 'I said no, just give me the results," she said.

"She said 'you have got it.'

"I asked, 'what does that mean as far as speed of progression and eventual death?"

"She said, 'you are such an unknown, we just don't know.'

"I'm rarer than rare, there's only a few families worldwide that have it – a couple in Japan, a couple in Spain, and only one in the US," she said.

However, medics have since told her she could have as little as a decade left.

"It's very hard," she said.

Webber's grandmother died from complications related to the condition, which had been undiagnosed until after her death.

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Deteriorating health

Webber says her condition has worsened since the 2020 diagnosis.

She has trouble swallowing, she's losing her hearing and her sight is deteriorating so she faces giving up her driving licence.

She has hyperreflexia, and muscle wastage.

Simple things like putting on her make-up or brushing her teeth are now a struggle, and she needs a cane or walker.

There's a chance some of her children, who are aged 17, 16, and 13, have also inherited it.

They can't find out until they're 18.

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Rediscovering a forgotten joy

One joy, which has come from Webber's diagnosis, has been rediscovering her love of horse riding.

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Though she had ridden from when she was a child until she was in her 20s, she got involved with horses again after her diagnosis via therapy at Equine Pathways Australia.

That progressed and she has now won multiple prizes in Western riding, including for the sport of reining, which sees the rider guide the horse through a series of moves in an arena.

"It's a cliché but it's the freedom of being able to move with another partner, having the trust and the connection, just enjoying all of the therapy that comes with working with animals give me a lot," she said.

"It gives me a reason to wake up every day."

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She is aiming for the Paralympics, and wants to compete in the para-dressage in Los Angeles in 2028 – though still needs a horse good enough to ride.

What is Spinocerebellar ataxia type 36?

Expert Dr David Szmulewicz, a Neurologist and Neuro-otologist called Webber's condition "a rare among rare diseases".

"As far as we know there's one family, and at most they had 18 affected members among four generations," he told 9News.

"With some of these really rare diseases, we don't really know how common they are as people don't test for them."

Szmulewicz said gene therapies, which work by 'blocking' mutations are a recent medical advancement giving hope to some living with the conditions- but it could be some way away for this type.

Webber has also just been named as an ambassador for charity, Rare Voices Australia, which helps people living with rare diseases.

The charity's chief executive officer, Nicole Millis Chief, said: "Our ambassadors remind us that the individual stories of people living with a rare disease, their families and carers must always remain central to drive effective systemic change."

Contact reporter Sarah Swain: Ss****@******om.au

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed after a gunman barricaded himself inside a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde, Texas, and opened fire.

Tuesday's massacre – the deadliest US school shooting in almost a decade – took place just days before the end of the school year at Robb Elementary School.

What should have been a time of celebration soon turned into one of grief and agony.

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Families gathered at a civic centre overnight to learn whether their loved ones had survived.

Some had the grim task of providing DNA swabs to help investigators determine whether their family members was among the victims.

As of Wednesday afternoon (Thursday morning AEST), at least six families said they had received devastating news.

Here's what friends and relatives want everyone to remember about the people they lost:

Amerie Jo Garza

For seven hours, Angel Garza scrambled to find his 10-year-old daughter, Amerie Jo.

He pleaded for the public's help on Facebook.

"I don't ask for much or hardly even post on here but please It's been seven hours and I still haven't heard anything on my love," Garza wrote.

"Please help me find my daughter."

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On Wednesday morning, Garza gave a heartbreaking update.

"Thank you everyone for the prayers and help trying to find my baby. She's been found. My little love is now flying high with the angels above," Garza posted.

"Please don't take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love them. I love you Amerie jo. Watch over your baby brother for me."

Eva Mireles

A fourth-grade teacher, Eva Mireles, was also killed at the school, her aunt Lydia Martinez Delgado told CNN.

Mireles had been an educator for 17 years.

Erica Torres recalled the care with which Mireles treated her son Stanley, who has autism, while he was in her third- and fourth-grade classes.

In an effort to stop him from wandering around the school, Mireles put Stanley in charge of rounding up students to get to class.

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"She made you feel like she was only teaching your child," Torres said.

"Like there's no other students but him. She made you feel so good."

In her spare time, Mireles enjoyed running, hiking, biking and being with her family, according to her profile on the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District's website.

Delgado never imagined such a tragedy would hit her family, she told CNN affiliate KSAT.

"I'm furious that these shooting(s) continue," the aunt told KSAT.

"These children are innocent. Rifles should not be easily available to all. This is … my hometown, a small community of less than 20,000."

Xavier Lopez

Just hours before he was killed, 10-year-old Xavier Lopez was lauded at Robb Elementary's honour roll ceremony, his mother, Felicha Martinez, told The Washington Post.

Martinez took a photo of her fourth-grader and told him she was proud of him and loved him.

That was the last moment she was to share with her "mama's boy."

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"He was funny, never serious, and his smile …" Felicha Martinez told the Post, her voice breaking.

"That smile I will never forget. It would always cheer anyone up."

Just a few days shy of completing his last year of elementary school, Xavier was counting down to his official move up the academic ladder into Flores Middle School in Uvalde, his mother told the Post.

"He really couldn't wait to go to middle school," she said.

Uziyah Garcia

The family of 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia told CNN that their fourth-grader was among those killed at Robb Elementary.

Uziyah was "full of life," according to an uncle, Mitch Renfro.

He loved video games and anything with wheels, and leaves behind two sisters.

"The sweetest little boy that I've ever known," Garcia's grandfather Manny Renfro told CNN affiliate KSAT.

"I'm not just saying that because he was my grandkid."

Uziyah last visited his grandfather in San Angelo during his spring break.

Renfro recalls tossing around a football with him and how quickly his grandson took to the sport.

"We started throwing the football together, and I was teaching him pass patterns. Such a fast little boy and he could catch a ball so good," Renfro said.

"There were certain plays that I would call that he would remember and he would do it exactly like we practiced."

Jose Flores Jr.

Jose Flores Jr., 10, was also among those killed at Robb Elementary, his father Jose Flores Sr. told CNN.

Flores described the fourth grader as an amazing kid and big brother to his two siblings.

Jose loved baseball and video games.

"He was always full of energy," Flores said. "Ready to play till the night."

Lexi Rubio

Felix and Kimberly Rubio had just celebrated their daughter Lexi's achievements at school before she was killed.

Lexi, who was 10 years old and in the fourth grade, had made the All-A honour roll and received a good citizen award, her parents told CNN.

"We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school. We had no idea this was goodbye," Kimberly Rubio wrote in a post on Facebook.

The parents told CNN they were proud of their daughter.

"She was kind, sweet, and appreciated life. She was going to be an all-star in softball and had a bright future, whether it's sports or academic. Please let the world know we miss our baby."

Community shattered by sudden tragedy

As the last day of school was drawing near, Robb Elementary students were celebrating with special themed dress days, including Tuesday's theme of "Footloose and Fancy."

Students were encouraged to come dressed in nice outfits and show off their fun footwear, according to a post on the school's Facebook page.

But by Tuesday afternoon, shaken students were being bused to the civic center-turned-reunification site.

As the evening stretched on, some parents began to learn their young children had not survived.

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"We see people coming out just terrorised. They're crying one by one. They're being told that their child has passed on," state Senator Roland Gutierrez told CNN Tuesday night from the site.

As news of the shooting broke in Uvalde, Robb Elementary parents were told students were being taken to the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Centre, according to a post on the school district's Facebook page.

The civic centre quickly became the epicentre for families looking for their children, and scenes of devastation began to play out as victims were identified.

Parents were asked for DNA swabs to confirm their relationships to their children and instructed to wait an hour for an answer, at least four families told CNN.

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A father, who had just learned his child was dead, fought tears as several of his cousins embraced him.

A few yards away, a grandmother who had just driven from San Antonio said she would not stop praying for her 10-year-old granddaughter as they waited for the DNA results.

Inside, city workers handed out pizza, snacks and water to families.

Some parents waited in silence, while others sobbed quietly as a group of children sat on the floor playing with teddy bears.

A group of local pastors and chaplains arrived and offered their support to the families.

By Tuesday night (Wednesday evening AEST), some families had still not been reunited with their children and had no news, said Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde.

"We have people that still have not had their children identified," he told CNN Tuesday night.

"Right now, they're still doing a DNA match."

The school district cancelled the rest of its school year, which was set to end Thursday, in response to the shooting, Superintendent Hal Harrell said. Grief counselling and support for students are available at the Uvalde civic centre, the district said.

"It's a small town," said Lalo Diaz, a county justice of the peace. It's the kind of place where everyone knows each other, Diaz said, noting he knows the families of several victims.

In his civic role, Diaz coordinates processing of the deceased. Until now, he's only dealt at once with four people killed in a car crash, he said.

"When I have to sign 21 death certificates," Diaz said, "my heart will drop."