Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the ejection of 775 US diplomats in retaliation for a new US sanctions bill.
Putin announced the move on Sunday, effectively cutting the US diplomatic mission of roughly 1,200 in Russia by more than half.
The order from Moscow, reported by AFP, comes in response to a sanctions bill that passed the US Congress on Thursday, which US President Donald Trump has said he will sign into law.
The Kremlin had on Friday seized two diplomatic properties and ordered the US to cut its mission to 445, the same size as Russia's in the US, but the new order from Putin is the first revelation of a headcount of expulsions.