In an interview, the influential body said it was "not surprised" by the designation -- which effectively criminalises it in Russia and anyone who works with them -- and vowed to continue its work remotely.

Human Rights Watch has not had a physical presence in Russia since authorities closed its Moscow offices in 2022.

"We are actually going to work even harder to expose the staggering crackdown by the Kremlin on Russian civil society and to report on Russian crimes in Ukraine," Tanya Lokshina, senior associate director of the group's Europe and Central Asia division, told AFP.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the country's justice ministry has banned dozens of groups critical of Kremlin policy or Moscow's conduct in the war.

Human Rights Watch, which investigates and publishes reports on abuses perpetrated by militaries and governments worldwide, has repeatedly condemned the war and accused the Russian military of carrying out a "litany of violations" in Ukraine -- a charge Moscow denies.

Among other organisations labelled as "undesirable" in Russia are the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, Amnesty International and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The label makes anyone who works with a group or donates money to them liable to prosecution in Russia.