McDonald's locations in Russia face unscheduled food safety checks.
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Russian food safety officials said they will conduct unscheduled checks on McDonald's locations in the Urals after receiving food safety complaints, according to news reports. The action comes after Russian authorities temporarily shuttered three restaurants in Moscow.

"We will continue to take care of our employees and do everything we can to continue the success of our company in Russia," the company said in a statement on the Russian version of its website.

McDonald's said in a statement that three McDonald's restaurants on Pushkin Square, Manezh Square and Prospect Mira were temporarily closed "based on a claim from a federal consumer agency."

"We are closely studying the subject of the documents to define what should be done to re-open the restaurants as soon as possible," the company said. "Our main priority is to serve our customers with top quality menu items."

Although Russian authorities say the food safety checks are not politically motivated, tensions continue to rise between Russia and the West after the United States and the European Union implemented sanctions against Russia.