Russia's first major blow in the Cold War in more than 20 years? Apparently, a pre-emptive strike against Madonna.

President Vladimir V. Putin said Thursday that he would sign into law a ban on adoptions of Russian children by American citizens, retaliating against an American law that punishes Russians accused of violating human rights and dealing a potentially grave setback to bilateral relations.

Mr. Putin announced his decision at a meeting with senior government officials on Friday, including cabinet members and legislative leaders. The adoption ban, included in a broader law aimed at retaliating against the United States, was approved unanimously by the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Parliament on Wednesday.

Seriously, though, the U.S. is not happy about this, finding it awful that Russia is putting orphaned children in the middle of a political battle. But the truth of the matter is, there are dozens of families out there which just had their hopes dashed over a transparently political move. Lame.