MOSCOW: Russia on Thursday banned the “international LGBT movement,” claiming it was an extremist group in a move that cements a long crackdown on the community as the Kremlin pushes ultra-conservative social values.

The conservative turn promoted by President Vladimir Putin has accelerated since the offensive in Ukraine, often portrayed as an existential fight against Western liberal values.

The supreme court handed down the ruling in Moscow on Thursday, AFP journalists in court reported.

It did not say whether certain individuals or organisations would be affected by the ruling.

The judge ruled that “the international LGBT public movement and its subdivisions” were extremist, and issued a “ban on its activities on the territory of Russia”.