Doctors Without Borders closes operations in Russia

Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday it has closed its operations in Russia after 32 years, citing a Justice Ministry letter that said the medical aid group had been removed from a register of foreign nongovernmental organizations.

MSF has been in Russia since 1992 and has operated programs that provided aid for homeless people and migrants, tuberculosis treatment, and general health care including for infectious diseases such as AIDS.

Russia has banned a wide array of international organizations, groups and movements on the grounds that they threaten the state.