Russia's lower house of parliament has passed a new law banning gender reassignment surgery, in the latest attack on LGBT rights in the country.

The State Duma approved the bill, which will also ban people changing their genders on state documents, on Friday.

It now needs approval from the upper house and President Vladimir Putin, moves normally seen as formalities.

Speaker of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said the bill would "protect our citizens and our children". 

In a telegram post on Friday, Mr Volodin also called gender-affirming surgery a "path to the degeneration of the nation".

"We are the only European country that opposes all that is happening in the States, in Europe and does everything to save families and traditional values," he said during the debate on Friday. "And we need to understand that there won't be any future if we don't adopt the law, if we don't ban gender change."

Fresh amendments added to the bill on Friday during its final reading included banning individuals who have undergone gender changes from adopting children, and annulling marriages where one party had undergone gender reassignment.

LGBT rights groups said the legislation would have a serious impact on the health of people denied access to care.

"I think this is an absolutely fascist law, which deprives people of medical care and any basic human rights," said Yan Dvorkin, head of the Center T organisation which provides support for Russian transgender people.

"It is very difficult psychologically for people to be worrying that the government might designate you as an enemy of the people and deprive you of rights, deprive you of any assistance, and leaves you in a lawless state."