Story highlights Putin says 755 staff will be cut from US missions

The move follows a US Congress decision to impose fresh Russian sanctions

Moscow (CNN) President Vladimir Putin has hit back at new American sanctions by ordering the US to cut staff at its diplomatic mission by 755, in Moscow's most aggressive move against Washington since the final years of the Cold War.

Putin confirmed the move Sunday after the Foreign Ministry on Friday demanded the US cut staff numbers and announced a rash of other measures against Washington's missions.

The measures came after the US Congress passed a bill last week imposing fresh sanctions over Russia's meddling in the US' 2016 election. President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign the sanctions bill into law.

The response represents a sharp downturn in US-Russia relations after signs that Trump wanted to develop a new partnership with Moscow.

If Russian state media figures are correct, the forced reduction in staff numbers would gut the US mission. Putin was quoted as saying 755 out of "a thousand or so" employees would "have to stop their activities in the Russian Federation." That number would include diplomats and technical workers, he said.

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