The Greenpeace environmental group said it is shutting down its Russia operation after the Kremlin declared it an "undesirable" organization amid the government's ongoing crackdown on civil society and independent organizations.
The Prosecutor-General's Office claimed on May 19 that the group "intervenes in Russia's internal affairs," financially supports "foreign agents," and that its activities "pose a threat to the foundation of the constitutional system and security of the Russian Federation."
The Prosecutor-General's Office also said that, after the start of what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, "Greenpeace activists have been involved in anti-Russia propaganda, calling for the further economic isolation of our country, and an increase in sanctions" imposed on Moscow.
Western nations have slapped crippling sanctions on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Greenpeace's office in Russia called the move "an absurd, irresponsible, and destructive step that has nothing to do with protection of the country's interests."
"All [our] work has been carried out for the interests of people living in Russia, for the interests of our country's future," it said in a statement.
"By destroying Greenpeace for its critical position in ecological matters, the nation is losing one of the leading experts in solving ecological problems. And people who are trying to protect nature are losing an ally that has helped them and, in its turn, felt their support."
"This decision makes it illegal to continue any Greenpeace activity in Russia. Therefore, the Russian branch of Greenpeace is forced to close," it added.
The "undesirable organization" law, adopted in 2015, was part of a series of regulations pushed by the Kremlin that squeezed many nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations that received funding from foreign sources.
In June 2021, Russian lawmakers approved a bill criminalizing participation in the activities of foreign or international NGOs, recognized as undesirable in the country.
Since launching its full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Russian authorities have taken the suppression of freedoms in the country to unprecedented levels.
Independent media outlets and human rights organizations are being shut down and noted opposition politicians and Kremlin critics have been jailed or had to flee the country.