Despite the unilateral cease-fire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in celebration of Christmas, fighting in Ukraine continues at several points of the Battlefront

Both Russia and Ukraine celebrate Orthodox Christmas on Saturday according to the eastern calendar, as it is known that Orthodox Christians are the majority in Russia as in Ukraine

This comes as the Russian military confirmed on Saturday its commitment to a ceasefire until midnight on Saturday (21.00 GMT), denouncing the continuation of Ukrainian artillery shelling on its positions.

He added that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces had repelled a number of attacks by the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine and that they had killed dozens of soldiers on Friday.

Ukraine considered this initiative a Russian "propaganda hit" to buy time. Washington, Paris, London, Berlin and the European Union condemned the announcement.

According to the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office, two people were killed and 13 others were injured on Friday in the city of Bakhmut, a large part of which was destroyed by fighting and where both camps suffered significant losses.

Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces also shelled the Kherson region on Friday, killing an aid worker and wounding seven other people.

In Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood alone during a midnight Mass at a church in the Kremlin during his Christmas commemoration.

In a message published by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin congratulated Orthodox Christians on the holiday, saying the occasion was a source of inspiration for "good deeds and aspirations".

Church associations "support our soldiers participating in a special military operation," he said, using the Kremlin's official designation for the attack.

In Ukraine, hundreds of faithful took part on Saturday in a historic mass at the Kiev cave monastery, which was formerly under the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate but in December came under the control of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church.