Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of reported attacks on religious communities and places of worship in Ukraine by Russian forces on freedom of religion or belief in that country.

We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), as well as the damage done to places of worship and religious significance. Following Russia's extension into the occupied territories in Ukraine, its domestic repression of FoRB sees Orthodox Church of Ukraine clergy, Crimean Tatars, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Protestant Churches suffer repression and physical abuse. This includes the prohibition of religious literature and arbitrary arrests and detentions, where religious figures are reportedly subjected to torture. Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned altogether. Russia's war is not just an attempt to destroy Ukraine's democracy, but their identity and culture - extending to Ukraine's religious and belief communities.