In latest crackdown on critics, Russia declares World Wide Fund for Nature 'undesirable'

TALLINN, Estonia — Russian authorities on Wednesday declared the World Wide Fund for Nature to be an undesirable organization, effectively banning it from operating in the country, in the latest move to stifle dissent.

The global organization, which promotes wildlife preservation and works to reduce human impact on the environment, encourages activities that are “a cover for the implementation of projects that pose security threats in the economic sphere,” the Russian prosecutor-general's office said, according to Russian news reports.

“Under the pretext of preserving the environment, WWF is carrying out activities aimed at preventing the implementation of the country’s political course for the industrial development of the Arctic, natural resources in the Arctic territories,” it said.

Last month, the environmental pressure group Greenpeace was forced to close its Russian division after Moscow declared it to be an undesirable organization.

In recent years, Russia has methodically targeted people and organizations critical of the Kremlin, branding many as “foreign agents”, declaring some as “undesirable” and prosecuting those found to have discredited the military's war in Ukraine.