Russian pranksters who often target people of interest deemed by the Russian state released a video today of a video call British Foreign Secretary David Cameron had after they tricked him into thinking he was talking to former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The British Foreign Office announced earlier this month that Cameron had a video call with someone impersonating Poroshenko before the British Foreign Secretary realized he was the victim of a hoax.

The video call, which appears to last around 15 minutes and shows Cameron talking on his mobile in casual clothes outdoors, was made by Russian pranksters using the alias ‘Vovan and Lexus’.

These pranksters – well known in Russia – have targeted several Western politicians in recent years, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and, in 2022, then British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

The Foreign Office said today that the video call appeared to be a Russian intelligence operation designed to divert attention from Russia’s war in Ukraine. The British Foreign Office did not respond to a question about the authenticity of the video.

Vovan and Lexus have previously denied Western accusations that they have links to Russian intelligence services, although they often ask their victims questions of Russian state interest.

In the video released today, the authenticity of which Reuters could not independently verify, Cameron can be seen and heard talking about sensitive issues related to Ukraine.

Specifically, he is heard talking about a private dinner he had with US presidential candidate Donald Trump in April, in which he pressed Trump to allow Republicans to vote to continue US military aid to Ukraine.

Cameron was heard saying the Republican party is divided over Ukraine and that he had told Trump he was wrong to think Putin just wanted Crimea and the Donbass, two of five Ukrainian provinces that Moscow now considers part of Russian territory.

The Washington Post reported in April that Trump had mentioned in a private conversation the option of allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to keep Crimea and the Donbass in exchange for peace, which the Trump campaign team did not confirm.

Cameron is heard saying that such an idea is wrong.

“Trump is convinced that a deal needs to be reached and that’s not because Putin wants a lot more,” the British foreign minister said, adding that he believed Trump, if he won the presidency, would back the side he’s on the battlefield. and that’s why this summer’s battles are so important.

Cameron is also heard saying Ukraine will not be invited to join the NATO military alliance at a summit next month because Washington is opposed to the idea.

Cameron also says he does not believe a possible French plan to send Western troops to Ukraine is the right approach because they would become a target for Putin.

Elsewhere on the call, the British foreign secretary was heard recounting a conversation with Kazakhstan’s foreign minister, who he said told him the Central Asian country feared Russia “wants a piece” of northern Kazakhstan where many Russians live .

A UK Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement: “…We released the fact that this call was made weeks ago, to do the right thing and make sure others were warned of the danger at the earliest opportunity. The Secretary of State understood that this was a private call with a Ukrainian politician.”

“The Russians are clearly behind the hoax and this is standard practice for intelligence operations. Disinformation is a tactic straight out of the Kremlin’s playbook to try to distract attention from their illegal activities in Ukraine and the human rights abuses being committed there,” the Foreign Office continued.

Russia denies committing war crimes in Ukraine.