Peeving Putin

You know you’re doing something right when you peeve Vladimir Putin.

On Sunday, the Russian thugocrat ordered the US diplomatic mission in Russia to cut 755 employees (leaving 455) by Sept. 1. It’s a direct response to the new sanctions law headed to President Trump’s desk.

“I decided that it is time for us to show that we will not leave anything unanswered,” whined Putin, noting that he’d been hoping for some niceness from America, “but it looks like it’s not going to change in the near future.”

No, it’s not — not with Putin still fostering war in Ukraine, holding on to Crimea, etc.

Not to mention his smirky “denials” about meddling in the 2016 campaign, which may well include directing his intel apparatus to help manufacture that sleazy “dossier” on Trump as well as the Democratic National Committee hack.

The new sanctions are in reaction to that interference, which is why they passed the Senate and House by overwhelming bipartisan margins. And they’re going to hurt, because they target the Russian president’s inner circle.

The mass expulsion of diplomats (and staff ) shows Putin feels the pain: Good.

As Vice President Mike Pence put it in Estonia the other day: “If Russia will change its behavior, our relationship will change for the better.” If not, Putin can expect more pain ahead.