Russian pranksters target Polish foreign minister in hoax call about Ukraine

By Andrew Osborn and Barbara Erling

LONDON/WARSAW (Reuters) - Russian pranksters released footage on Thursday of a video call with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski after apparently tricking him into thinking he was speaking to former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, who use the aliases Vovan and Lexus, have duped a number of Western politicians over the years into discussing topics of interest to Moscow.

The duo, who have denied Western accusations of having links to Russia's intelligence services, were given a top state award in the Kremlin in July for their exploits.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video call, which shows Sikorski speaking in English as he discusses Poland's support for Ukraine and other topics.

Pawel Wronski, a spokesperson for the Polish foreign ministry, told Reuters the material had probably been gathered in March, and questioned whether and how it had been edited.

He said Sikorski's comments were similar to things the minister had said many times to various politicians.

"You can put it all together, there is nothing here to be ashamed of in any way," said Wronski.

"He (Sikorski) has talked to Poroshenko many times, so it is difficult to even remember whether such words were said or not. It is not known in what circumstances it was recorded."

The pranksters released the video on the same day as Sikorski held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an apparent attempt to embarrass him.

Sikorski is heard saying he thinks it will take a decade or more for Ukraine to join the European Union, that he thinks some Western countries want to use the prospect of Kyiv joining NATO as a possible bargaining chip with Russia, and that fighting a war with Moscow in western Europe is "an absolute red line."

Asked about the prospect of Donald Trump becoming the next U.S. president, he says he has spoken to "Trump's people" who told him Trump would threaten Moscow with further escalation to try to get a peace deal.

He is also heard criticising efforts by Kyiv to organise peace conferences involving multiple countries to put pressure on Russia, saying such initiatives are ineffective.

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn in London and Barbara Erling in Warsaw)