Italian PM Giorgia Meloni is the latest victim of Russian prank callers. The prank call, which was conducted by Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, happened on Sept. 18.
These Russian comedians-also jointly known as "Vovan and Lexus"-fooled the prime minister by presenting one of them as an African politician.
Meloni's office announced that the prime minister had been misled into the phone call, leading her to accidentally share some information about Italy's plans for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Italian PM Meloni Fooled by Russian Prank Callers
According to The Guardian's latest report, Vovan and Lexus are known to be strong supporters of Russia. Some rumors even claimed that these two Russian comedians are linked to Russian intelligence services.
However, these allegations were never proven until now. Although this is the case, some experts are still concerned since Meloni shared some information about Italy's plans for Ukraine.
When Vovan and Lexus called her, they pretended to be the president of the African Union Commission. Since Italy was making efforts to improve its relationship with African leaders during that time, Meloni believed that the prank callers were indeed African officials.
Reuters reported that the prank call was posted by the Russian pranksters on Wednesday, Nov. 1; the call lasted for around 13 minutes.
For those who are not familiar with Vovan and Lexus, these Russian comedians are well known for their efficiency in fooling Western politicians, as well as celebrities, to elicit frank and unguarded statements.
The effectiveness of their tactics was seen in the latest prank call against Giorgia Meloni.
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Meloni Accidentally Shares Italy's Plans for Ukraine
During the prank call, Meloni vented out to the pranksters, saying that there's a lot of tiredness on all sides because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
"The moment is approaching when everyone will understand that we need a way out," she added.
The Italian prime minister also said that Ukraine's counteroffensive to push back Russian forces is not going as expected, claiming that the efforts of Ukrainians are not paying off.
"Everyone understands that [the conflict] could last many years if we don't find a solution. The Ukrainians are doing what they have to do and we are trying to help them," shared Meloni.
Another thing that the Italian leader accidentally shared is that Italy is trying to find a way out of the war that will be acceptable for both sides without affecting international law.
She added that she already has some ideas on how to do this, but she is still waiting for the right moment to introduce them.
