Russian pranksters were able to get through to Polish President Andrzej Duda on the telephone following the missile explosion in the east of Poland which killed two civilians and risked a diplomatic crisis. They impersonated French President Emmanuel Macron and attempted to get Duda to reveal sensitive information.
This is not the first time such pranksters have managed to get under the radar and talk to leaders or other famous people. Boris Johnson, Prince Harry, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and French President Emmanuel Macron too have all been the victims of such actions, as have Elton John and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
President Duda’s chancellery acknowledged on Twitter that the call took place and that a person impersonating Maron had managed to speak to the Polish President. Duda himself became suspicious during the call and, realizing that the call may be a hoax, ended the conversation.
But the conversation of which the text has been published in Russia is seven minutes long. In it, Duda does give his take on what happened over the exploding missile. He stresses that he is very careful on this issue because although the rocket was Russian, it appeared to have been fired by Ukraine. However, he admits he had discussed the situation with the U.S. administration.
It is not the first time Duda has fallen foul of such a prank. A Russian comic managed to get through to him in 2020 who later admitted that he found Duda less trusting than former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson or French President Macron.
