Russian pranksters, posing as Ukraine’s former President Petro Poroshenko, managed to call former German chancellor Angela Merkel on phone to discuss developments in Ukraine and Belarus, although Merkel appeared wary during the call.
The former German chancellor’s office said that she received a call on January 12 from someone claiming to be Poroshenko. The conversation was assisted by a German-Ukrainian interpreter from the German Foreign Ministry’s language service, Associated Press reported.
In a statement later, the office said that Merkel informed the ministry about the “impression that she gained of the caller during the call,” but didn’t elaborate on what that was.
The callers, pretending to be former Ukraine President, were Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus.
The two posted the excerpts of the call on their Telegram channel, where Merkel said that the much-criticized Minsk peace agreement had bought precious time for Ukraine. Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande had brokered the peace agreement with Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015. She also criticizes repression in autocratic Belarus.
Many European Leaders Pranked
The two pranksters have previously embarrassed European politicians including French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda and then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as Elton John and Prince Harry, with similar hoax calls.
Earlier in November 2022, when a missile exploded in eastern Poland, the comedians pretending to be French president Emmanuel Macron tricked Polish president Andrzej Duda into giving them sensitive information.
Duda’s office said it was one of many international calls that the president received at a tense time on November 15, just after a missile hit in eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine.
The duo also targeted then UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson in 2018 pretending to be the new prime minister of Armenia. Johnson not only congratulated the caller on his election, but also goes on to discuss UK-Russia relations.
During the 18-minute call, the then UK foreign secretary also expressed surprise and interest when the caller claimed that the President Putin is “influencing” Jeremy Corbyn.
The pranksters also claimed duping Prince Harry in 2020 into making comments about quitting the Royal Family.
Prince Harry discussed various issues after the duo impersonated teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and her father in two phone calls, according to BBC. Prince Harry is said to criticise former US President Donald Trump over climate change and describe his decision to end official royal duties as “not easy”.
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