Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to call upon the government of Ukraine to lift the imposition of martial law to ensure that forthcoming elections are free and fair.

​In response to Russian aggression, the Ukrainian Rada (parliament) adopted a law on 26 November on the approval of a Presidential Decree on the introduction of Martial Law. The law came into force for a fixed period of 30 days from 28 November and applies in 10 border regions. We welcome President Poroshenko's reassurances that martial law will not be used to restrict the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens and that full mobilisation will only be considered in case of further Russian aggression. The UK continues to provide support for transparency and accountability through electoral reform in Ukraine, including technical assistance for reform of the Central Election Commission. We welcome the Ukrainian Parliament's resolution this week confirming Presidential elections will proceed as scheduled on 31 March 2019. We also welcome the President's assurances that he is actively seeking to ensure that community elections scheduled for 23 December can proceed as planned.