David Cameron, victim of a prank call by famed Russian duo

Two Russian pranksters who gained worldwide notoriety for calling politicians and impersonating various famous figures released a recording of a conversation with David Cameron on Wednesday. The British Foreign Minister was convinced he was talking to former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

In early June, the British Foreign Office admitted that Cameron had fallen victim to this prank. The decision to disclose this hindered any potential manipulations and raised awareness about Russian disinformation.

During the conversation, which lasted almost 15 minutes, the person impersonating Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019, touched on many subjects. Cameron spoke, among other things, about the British opposition Labour Party, former US President Donald Trump attempting to return to the White House, and Russian aggression in Ukraine.

When asked whether he believes British policy towards Ukraine will change after the July elections to the House of Commons, Cameron replied that the Labour Party was "just as enthusiastic" in its support for Ukraine as the Conservatives. "I don’t think you’ll see change. Obviously, if they win, it will be a new government, there will be some getting up to speed on some issues, but I think fundamentally they’ve supported everything we’ve done. I think the Labour Party, if they win, will continue that approach," Cameron assured.

Referring to Trump, Cameron assessed that the former US president would want to support the winning side in Ukraine, but "it’s hard to predict exactly what his attitude will be."

"I think ultimately [Trump] will calculate at the time what’s right for him. I think the key thing is if we can make sure that Ukraine is on the front foot and Putin is on the back foot by November [2024], then he will want to support the winning side, as it were, and that’s what we’ve got to ensure," he said.

At another point in the conversation, the person impersonating Poroshenko expressed concern that not sending Ukraine an invitation to NATO was a "bad signal." In response, Cameron stated: "There’s not going to be an invitation because America won’t support one."

"So what I’ve said to the president, [Volodymyr] Zelensky, is: let’s try and get the best language we can about NARO support for Ukraine. But don’t, let’s not, we mustn’t have an argument Nato and Ukraine before the summit," revealed the British Foreign Minister.

Cameron also mentioned his conversation with his Kazakh counterpart Murat Nurtleu earlier this year.

"Kazakhstan is convinced that Putin wants a slice of the north of Kazakhstan. Mr Nurtleu] said Ukrainians are dying for Kazakhstan, they are putting their lives at risk to hold back Russia, and that benefits us," revealed the head of British diplomacy.

Russian comedians Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus, gained notoriety worldwide by tricking celebrities and politicians while impersonating various famous figures. Among the victims of their pranks were, among others, the author of the Harry Potter books J.K. Rowling, British Prince Harry, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, then-Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, later US Vice President Kamala Harris, and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda.