Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 21 June to Questions 16866 and 16870, what assessment she has made of the impact of the UK’s reliance on Ukrainian authorities for (a) the collection of antemortem records of missing or at risk UK citizens in Ukraine and (b) the identification of deceased UK citizens in Ukraine, on the effectiveness of future investigations into Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

It is for the Ukrainian authorities to maintain any necessary records of those missing or at risk in Ukraine and to identify British nationals that pass away on Ukrainian territory. We will be guided by the Ukrainian authorities on their ability to do this within the context of the conflict and for their liaison with relevant HMG departments for such support as they require. The Attorney General led a scoping mission to the region from 8-11 May, to assess how UK Government Departments can work with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General to identify and collect evidence of atrocity crimes, in order to support the effectiveness of future investigations into Russian war crimes.