Russia has temporarily closed 12 branches of McDonald's on health grounds and is carrying out more than 100 inspections, the US fast food chain said Friday. Russia has cracked down on McDonald's this month, closing three other branches of the hugely popular burger chain over alleged hygiene violations in a move widely seen as a retaliation against Western sanctions over Ukraine.

McDonald's said in a statement that 12 restaurants have now been closed by the authorities, seven of them in southern Russia, and "currently more than 100 inspections are being carried out". The company said it is looking at the alleged violations to work out how to reopen the restaurants as soon as possible.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014