Russia has revoked the registration of 15 foreign organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The announcement came on the 44th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people and uprooted more than 11 million from their homes, causing the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
HRW has been operating in Russia for 30 years, while Amnesty has had a presence in the country since 1993.
They were taken off Russia's registry of international organizations along with 13 other foreign NGOs due to "violations of the current legislation of the Russian Federation," the Justice Ministry said in a statement without providing further details.
Russia's move also effectively shut down the local offices of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Aga Khan Foundation, and the Wspolnota Polska Association, among others.
"Human Rights Watch has been working on and in Russia since the Soviet era, and we will continue to do so," said Kenneth Roth, HRW's executive director. "This new iron curtain will not stop our ongoing efforts to defend the rights of all Russians and to protect civilians in Ukraine."
Rachel Denber, deputy director of HRW's Europe and Central Asia division, said there was little doubt the move was in response to the organization's reporting on Russia's offensive in Ukraine.
"The Russian government had already made it abundantly clear that it has no use for any facts, regarding the protection of civilians in Ukraine. This is just one small further proof of that," Denber said in a statement to AFP.
Denber, who previously directed the watchdog's Moscow office, said HRW would continue to work on Russia.
"HRW has been working on Russia since the Soviet era, when it was a closed totalitarian state," she added. "We found ways of documenting human rights abuses then, and we will do so in the future."
Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said her organization would also continue to support Russians.
"We will redouble our efforts to expose Russia's egregious human rights violations both at home and abroad," she said in a statement. "You must be doing something right if the Kremlin tries to shut you up," Callamard added.
Germany’s Heinrich-Boll Foundation, which has close ties to Germany's Green Party and promotes democracy in Russia, was also affected.
"Unfortunately, the Russian government under President [Vladimir] Putin has pulled this country in the opposite direction for many years," the foundation said in a statement.
Over the past year Russian authorities have been presiding over an unprecedented crackdown on dissent and independent journalism that has included dubbing nongovernmental organizations and media outlets as "foreign agents."
The Justice Ministry also designated six more people "foreign agents," including popular rapper Face, or Ivan Dremin, who has spoken out against Russia's military campaign in Ukraine and left the country in protest.
The other five are lawyer Mark Feygin, Novaya gazeta journalist Irina Tumakova, Idel.Realii journalist Yekaterina Mayakovskaya, writer Andrei Filimonov, and associate professor Dmitry Dubrovsky.
"We strongly protest this Kremlin attempt to silence [RFE/RL journalists Mayakovskaya and Filimonov] by unjustly designating them as 'foreign agents.'" RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said in a statement on April 9.
"This ongoing campaign to criminalize journalism and stigmatize and silence those who tell the truth will not deter RFE/RL from our mission of providing truthful information to the Russian people."
