Russian pranksters launch fraudulent video call with Britain's David Cameron over Ukraine

By Andrew Osborn

LONDON (Reuters) – Russian pranksters who often target people of interest to the Russian state released footage on Wednesday of a video call with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron after tricking him into believing he spoke to a former Ukrainian president.

The Foreign Office in London said earlier this month that Cameron had a video call with someone claiming to be former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko before realizing he was the victim of a hoax.

The call, which appears to have lasted about 15 minutes and during which Cameron is shown talking on his cellphone dressed casually somewhere outside, was made by Russian pranksters who use the aliases ” Vovan and Lexus.

The duo are well known in Russia for deceiving a series of Western politicians over the years, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and, in 2022, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace.

The Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the call appeared to be a Russian information operation intended to divert attention from Moscow's war in Ukraine. He did not respond to a question about the authenticity of the video.

Vovan and Lexus have in the past denied Western accusations that they have links to Russian intelligence services, although they often ask their victims questions that might be of interest to the Russian state.

In Wednesday's video, the authenticity of which Reuters could not independently verify, Cameron is seen and heard talking about sensitive topics related to Ukraine.

ASSET LOBBYING

He is heard discussing a private dinner he had with US presidential candidate Donald Trump in April, during which he pressured Trump to allow Republicans to vote in favour of US military aid to Ukraine.

Cameron is heard saying that the Republican Party is divided on the issue of Ukraine and that he told Trump he was wrong if he thought Putin only wanted Crimea and Donbass, two of Ukraine's five regions. which Moscow now considers part of Russia.

The Washington Post reported in April that Trump had privately raised the possibility of allowing Putin to keep Crimea and Donbass in exchange for peace, which Trump's campaign has not confirmed.

Cameron heard that such an idea was wrong.

“Trump is convinced there is a deal to be made, but there is not because Putin wants much more,” Cameron says, adding that he believes Trump, if he wins the presidency, will support the winning side on the battlefield and that's why this summer's fighting is so important.

Cameron has also heard that Ukraine will not be invited to join the NATO military alliance at a summit next month because Washington opposes it. Cameron also says he does not think a possible French plan to send troops to Ukraine is the right approach, as they would become a target for Putin.

In another segment, he is heard recounting a conversation with Kazakhstan's foreign minister who he said told him the Central Asian nation was concerned that Russia “wanted a slice” of northern Kazakhstan, where Many ethnic Russians live there.

A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said in a statement:

“…We made public the fact that this call took place weeks ago, to do the right thing and ensure others were alerted to the risk as early as possible. The Minister of Foreign Affairs understood that it was a private call with a Ukrainian politician.

“This is clearly Russian and is standard practice for information operations. Disinformation is a tactic straight out of the Kremlin’s playbook to try to distract attention from its illegal activities in Ukraine and the human rights violations taking place there.”

Russia denies committing war crimes in Ukraine.