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[ad_1] Intensified spying by American drones near Ukraine could lead to an escalation and Russia will respond proportionally to future intelligence-gathering operations, Moscow’s defence chief has told his US counterpart. According to international media reports, the comments came in a phone conversation on Wednesday between Sergei Shoigu and Pentagon boss Lloyd Austin after the United States accused a Russian Su-27 fighter jet of colliding with one of its Reaper surveillance drones, forcing it to crash into the Black Sea. Russia denied it deliberately brought the unmanned aerial vehicle down. “It was noted that flights by American strategic lethal drones by the Crimea coastline were provocative in nature and created pre-conditions for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone,” a defence ministry statement quoted Shoigu as saying. “[Russia] has no interest in such a development, but it will continue to respond proportionately to all provocations.” It was the fi

[ad_1] Moscow — A U.S. journalist working for The Wall Street Journal has been arrested in Russia on charges of spying for Washington, Russia's FSB security services said Thursday. The announcement marks a serious escalation in Kremlin's efforts to silence perceived critics, a crackdown that gained momentum following Russia's military operation in Ukraine last year. The FSB security services said they had "halted the illegal activities of U.S. citizen Evan Geshkovich," saying The Wall Street Journal reporter was "suspected of spying in the interests of the American government." Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, is seen in an undated photo from his LinkedIn profile.  Evan Gershkovich/LinkedIn Their statement confirmed that Geshkovich, 31, was working with press accreditation issued by the Russian foreign minist