BERLIN (AP) – Russian pranksters posing as Ukraine’s ex-President Petro Poroshenko managed to contact Angela Merkel by phone to discuss developments in Ukraine and Belarus, although the former German chancellor appeared wary during the call.
Merkel’s office said on Monday that the former German leader received a call on January 12 from someone claiming to be Poroshenko.
The conversation was assisted by a German-Ukrainian interpreter from the German Foreign Ministry’s language service.
In an e-mailed statement, the office said Merkel informed the ministry afterward about the “impression that she gained of the caller during the call,” but didn’t elaborate on what that was.
Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus, posted on their Telegram channel what they said were excerpts from the call.
