Russian President Vladimir Putin has today signed a bill banning US citizens from adopting Russian children.

It is likely to raise tensions with Washington as the US Government try to gain support from Moscow to end the war in Syria.

This latest legislation is being seen as as a tit-for-tat retaliation against a new U.S. law that seeks to punish Russians accused of human-rights violations.

The Russian ban is set to go into effect on the first of January.