Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday announced that 755 U.S. diplomats would be expelled from Russia, a retaliatory move in response to Washington's newest sanctions against the Kremlin.
Putin made the announcement during a televised interview with Russia's state-owned Rossiya 1 network, criticizing the sanctions passed by Congress last week as an unprovoked attempt to worsen U.S.-Russia relations.
The U.S. bill, which also targets North Korea and Iran, expands sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea. Moscow's anger at the bill prompted the Russian Foreign Ministry to announce on Friday that it would be ordering the U.S. to cut down its diplomatic staff in the country by Sept. 1.