The Ukrainian president has condemned Russia for destroying a historic monastery in the eastern region of Donetsk. Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the international community to expel Russia from the UN cultural agency UNESCO.

Zelenskyy wrote on social media that no other country in Europe has destroyed so many monuments of cultural heritage since World War Two as Russia did in its invasion of Ukraine.

In the neighboring region of Luhansk, the situation is direr as the Russian military has boasted that it dealt a fatal blow to Severodonetsk -- Ukraine's last stronghold in the region.

Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said on Saturday that most of the city has been taken by the full-scale Russian assault launched on it.

He added that Russian forces blew up bridges to prevent Ukraine's bringing in military reinforcements.

The Russian military said on Saturday that their strikes caused Ukrainian forces to lose a maximum of 90 percent of their units.

The international community is concerned about global food shortages as the war stopped grain exports from Ukraine.

The Russian military says 70 foreign ships are stuck at six ports along the Black Sea including Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa. It claims that ships cannot move for fear of shelling by Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine has blamed Moscow for the blockade, saying Russians left naval mines at sea.