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A “prank” video call with UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has surfaced after Britain blamed Russia for hoaxes aimed at government ministers in the hope of securing sensitive or embarrassing information.
Mr Wallace said the invasion of Ukraine “must be going so badly for the Kremlin” that it resorted to releasing “video fakes”, as the footage was published on Monday evening.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said she also spoke to imposters posing as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, while an unsuccessful attempt was also made with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.
An “official teaser” of the call with Mr Wallace appeared on a YouTube account claiming it was a “video prank” with “Vovan and Lexus”, a pair previously credited with a hoax aimed at the Duke of Sussex.
Mr Wallace is shown speaking from Poland as the caller, purporting to be Mr Shmyhal, says Ukraine wants to continue a “nuclear programme” to protect itself from Moscow, a claim Russian state media has baselessly claimed in the past.
A UK Ministry of Defence source said the video was “garbage”, adding: “It’s a doctored clip.
“What you don’t hear is the defence secretary also saying that the UK can’t have anything to do with alleged Ukrainian nuclear ambitions, because the UK is committed to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” the source said.
Mr Wallace did not appear to say anything particularly embarrassing or alarming in the video, but it did promote a “full interview” within “a few days”.
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A firefighter works at a residential district that was damaged by shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A woman removes pieces of broken glass from a shop window after a bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
Residents clean the street outside apartments damaged by shelling, in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A man walks at a residential district that was damaged by shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
Rescuers work at the site of buildings damaged by shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
Launch of missiles by the coastal missile system 'Bastion' on infrastructure facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from an undisclosed position in Crimea. As a result of a strike with long-range precision weapons, an arsenal with weapons and military equipment of Ukrainian troops in the village of Orzhev, 14 kilometres north-west of the city of Rivne, two Tochka-U launchers near Kiev, and eight anti-aircraft missile systems were destroyed. EPA -
Pictures lie amidst the rubble of former teacher Natalia's house which was was hit in a military strike, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A Ukrainian serviceman rests at his position in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
A hug for a child at the railway station in Przemysl, near the Polish-Ukrainian border, as Ukrainian refugees make their way out of the war zone. AFP -
Displaced Ukrainians on a Poland-bound train bid farewell at Lviv, western Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian servicemen rest in Kharkiv. AP -
A car wrecked and burnt by shelling in a street in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
A member of pro-Russian unit in uniform without insignia handles a mortar round at a weapons depot near Marinka, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Reuters -
The aftermath of shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. EPA -
Nurses in tears after Russian shelling of a psychiatric hospital in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. AFP -
Candles and lights form a giant peace sign during the Avaaz vigil in front of the European Council and Commission buildings in Brussels, Belgium. AP -
A wrecked car in a ruined street in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP -
Rescue workers at an industrial building damaged by an air strike in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
The monument to the Duke of Richelieu, one of the founders of the city of Odesa, is covered by sand bags. Near by, a placard shows the building before the Russian invasion. EPA -
People clean up a room in an apartment building in Kyiv destroyed in an air raid, as Russia presses on with its invasion of Ukraine. Reuters -
An instructor shows citizens how to fire the weapon during a shooting training session in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. Reuters -
Russian troops hurl stun grenades at demonstrators protesting against the invasion, in Kherson, Ukraine. Reuters -
Ukrainian servicemen stand guard at a military checkpoint in Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian refugees Sasha Alexandra and Olena embrace shortly before being allowed to cross into the United States to seek asylum in Tijuana, Mexico. They fled their city of Dnipro this month and travelled to Germany before flying to Mexico. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a broadcast speech in Kyiv, calling on citizens to 'drive the occupiers out'. EPA -
An unexploded rocket in a cemetery in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. AFP -
A portrait of a young woman who died during a Russian attack, next to her fresh grave in the Mykolaiv cemetery. AFP -
Tents set up for Ukrainian refugees inside a train station in Bucharest, Romania. AFP -
Workers cover a sculpture outside the home of Lviv National Opera to protect it from damage amid fighting in Ukraine. Reuters -
Olena, the mother of Denys Snihur, a 25-year-old soldier killed by Russian shelling in the northern town of Ovruch, mourns him at his funeral in Lviv. Reuters -
All that is left of a shopping centre after shelling in Kyiv. AP -
Civilian volunteers attend a Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces training camp in Brovary, north-east of Kyiv. AP -
Refugees at a temporary accommodation centre in a school gymnasium in Taganrog, Russia. EPA -
Oil storage tanks burn in Chernihiv, Ukraine, in a satellite image from Maxar Technologies. EPA -
President Joe Biden discusses the US response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the Business Roundtable CEO Quarterly Meeting. EPA -
The wreck of a Russian military vehicle near Kharkiv. EPA -
Firefighters work at the site of a shopping centre bombing in Kyiv. Reuters -
Seven-year-old Amellia Anisovych, a refugee from Ukraine, sings the Ukraine national anthem at the start of a fund-raising concert in Lodz, Poland. Amellia became known for singing a song from the film 'Frozen' in a bomb shelter in Kyiv. AP -
People queue at the National Stadium in Warsaw to apply for ID numbers that will entitle them to work and receive free health care and education in Poland. AP -
Checkout tills are damaged at a supermarket in a shopping centre that was damaged in a bombing in Kyiv. Reuters -
Cars are damaged at the site of a bombing at a shopping center in Kyiv. Reuters -
A woman comforts a boy while refugees wait for Ukrainian police to check their papers and belongings in Brovary, Ukraine. AP -
A refugee family sit in front of a tent at a temporary shelter offered by the Free Christian Church in Uszka, Hungary. Getty Images -
Firefighters carry a ladder across the debris following Russian shellings that destroyed the Retroville shopping mall in Kyiv. AFP -
A rescuer inside a shopping mall damaged by an airstrike in Kyiv. Reuters
It was understood discussions were under way with YouTube to get the video removed.
Vovan and Lexus have previously targeted Sir Elton John, a vocal critic of Russia’s “gay propaganda” laws, critics of the Kremlin and world leaders including Canada’s Justin Trudeau.
Critics have accused the pair, whose real names are Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, of having links to Russian security services, which they deny.
Mr Wallace said at the time of the incident last week that he believed Russia was to blame and Downing Street has now publicly pointed the finger at the Kremlin.
“The Russian state was responsible for the hoax telephone calls made to UK ministers last week," Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said.
“This is standard practice for Russian information operations and disinformation is a tactic straight from the Kremlin playbook to try to distract from their illegal activities in Ukraine and the human rights abuses being committed there.
“We are seeing a string of distraction stories and outright lies from the Kremlin, reflecting [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s desperation as he seeks to hide the scale of the conflict and Russia’s failings on the battlefield.”
Senior government sources fear the Russians may try to doctor footage obtained in the calls in an attempt to embarrass the UK.
Mr Wallace publicly acknowledged he had been hoaxed shortly after his call on Thursday to block any attempt by Moscow to circulate footage from it.
He also launched a cross-Whitehall investigation to understand how he ended up on the video call.
Meanwhile on Monday, Mr Johnson hinted at more military support to Ukraine after a call with US President Joe Biden and other allies before a summit of Nato leaders on Thursday.
He discussed his “horror” at the Russian president’s use of “increasingly brutal tactics” in Ukraine, including siege warfare and attacking civilians.
Downing Street said the leaders — including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz and Italy’s Mario Draghi — affirmed their commitment to “equipping the democratically elected government in Kyiv with the tools it needs to defend itself”.
With Mr Biden set to attend the Nato summit in Brussels, Downing Street said Mr Johnson looked forward to discussing “how to increase military support to Ukraine to qualitatively improve their defensive capability”.
In Ukraine, officials rejected a Russian demand for the port city of Mariupol to surrender as the bombardment of population centres across the country continued.
In the capital Kyiv a shopping centre was hit on Sunday, killing eight people, while ammonia leaked from a chemical plant in north-eastern Ukraine after it was shelled.
According to the latest UK Ministry of Defence assessment, the Russian advance on Kyiv remains stalled against determined Ukrainian resistance, with most of Moscow’s forces still more than 25 kilometres from the centre.
But analysts believe the capital is still the Kremlin’s main military objective, although it is thought the Russians will try to force it into submission through encirclement rather than a direct assault.
The UN’s refugee agency said about 3.5 million people had fled Ukraine since the February 24 invasion while millions more are still in the country but have been forced out of their homes.
About 10,200 visas have been issued under the Ukraine family scheme as of 4pm on Sunday, the UK Home Office said.
A total of 31,500 applications have been submitted so far, according to provisional data published on the department’s website.
And about 150,000 people have expressed an interest in hosting refugees through the Homes for Ukraine programme.
