Last Update: February 26, 2023, 12:51 IST
File photo of Angela Merkel, Boris Johnson, Prince Harry and Andrzej Duda.
Earlier in November 2022, when a missile exploded in eastern Poland, comedians pretending to be Emmanuel Macron tricked Polish President Andrzej Duda into giving him sensitive information.
Russian pranksters, posing as former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, managed to get former German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the phone to discuss developments in Ukraine and Belarus, although Merkel appeared cautious during the call.
The former German Chancellor’s office said they received a phone call on 12 January from someone claiming to be Poroshenko. The Associated Press reported that the talks were assisted by a German-Ukrainian interpreter from the language service of the German Foreign Ministry.
In a later statement, the office said Merkel informed the ministry about “an impression the caller had received during the call”, but did not say what it was.
The callers were Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, better known as Vovan and Lexus, pretending to be the former President of Ukraine.
The two posted excerpts of the call on their Telegram channels, where Merkel said the much-anticipated Minsk peace deal had bought Ukraine precious time. Merkel and former French President François Hollande mediated a peace deal with Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015. She also criticizes repression in autocratic Belarus.
many European leaders joked
The two pranksters had previously embarrassed French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda and then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as European politicians including Elton John and Prince Harry with similar hoaxes.
Earlier in November 2022, when a missile exploded in eastern Poland, comedians pretending to be French President Emmanuel Macron tricked Polish President Andrzej Duda into giving up sensitive information.
Duda’s office said it was one of several international calls the president received at a tense time on November 15, just after a missile fell in eastern Poland close to the border with Ukraine.
The two also targeted Boris Johnson, the then UK foreign secretary, in 2018 by pretending to be the new prime minister of Armenia. Johnson not only congratulated the caller on his election, but also discussed UK-Russia relations.
During the 18-minute call, the then UK Foreign Secretary also expressed surprise and interest when the caller claimed that President Putin was “influencing” Jeremy Corbyn.
Pranksters claim to have made comments about Prince Harry leaving the Royal Family in 2020.
According to the BBC, Prince Harry discussed a variety of issues in two phone calls following the impersonation of teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and her father. Prince Harry is said to criticize former US President Donald Trump over climate change and described his decision to end official royal duties as “not easy”.
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