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Russian pranksters posing as Ukraine's ex-leader call Merkel

February 20, 2023

Germany's former chancellor received a prank call from a pair claiming to be Ukraine's former President Petro Poroshenko. During the call, she apparently said the Minsk peace deal had bought time for Ukraine.

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Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
Merkel has met with Ukraine's former president Poroshenko during her tenure in officeImage: Michael Sohn/AP/picture alliance

The office of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that she had received a call on January 12 from someone claiming to be Ukraine's ex-President Petro Poroshenko. 

A renowned duo of Russian pranksters also released excerpts of the call on Monday. 

"I can confirm a phone call with a caller who posed as former [Ukrainian] President Petro Poroshenko," a Merkel spokesperson told the German news agency DPA.

Merkel's office said the call was supported by a translation from the German Foreign Ministry. The statement added that the former leader then informed the ministry about the "impression that she gained of the caller during the call," without elaborating on what that was.

What we know about the call

On Telegram, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus, posted what they said were excerpts from their call with Merkel.

The recording includes Markel saying that the much-criticized Minsk agreement had bought precious time for Ukraine.

Merkel has long publicly spoken in favor of the 2014 peace deal, which she and then-French President Francois Hollande had brokered with Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015.

The excerpts also feature Merkel criticizing repression in autocratic Belarus.

Vovan and Lexus are known for their hoax calls with politicians and celebreties. They have previously targeted French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda and then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as Elton John and Prince Harry.

Poroshenko served as Ukraine's president from 2014 until 2019. Merkel was the German chancellor from 2005 until the end of 2021.

fb/es (AP, dpa)