The Polish Foreign Ministry denied the value of this material, calling it “Russian propaganda rubbish”.
Pranksters Vovan and Lexus – a tool of the Kremlin
Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, known by the pseudonyms Vovan and Lexus, have gained worldwide fame as pranksters, that is, people who deceive others by impersonating famous figures. Working closely with the Russian secret services, they use their “jokes” as a political tool.
There are many examples of fraud committed by this duo – in the past they managed to conduct fake conversations with President Andrzej Duda, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and even French President Emmanuel Macron. Now their target was Radosław Sikorski, the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Manipulated statements or real concerns?
Recording a conversation with Radoslaw Sikorskiwas published in the Telegram channel of Russian pranksters. During the conversation, Sikorski allegedly expressed that Poland currently “has no desire to defend Ukraine”, which was directly related to the question of “Petro Poroshenko” about the possibility of the Polish army participating in the defense of Ukraine. “Everything can change if Ukraine, if the front begins to collapse, but at the moment the desire to do so is zero,” Sikorski allegedly said.
These words were immediately picked up by Russian propaganda, emphasizing that Poland may distance itself from supporting Ukraine. The minister also stated that there is an ongoing debate in Poland about shooting down Russian cruise missiles over Ukraine, but “there is no agreement on this because it would mean joining the war.”
The rest of the conversation focused on controversial topics, such as the explosion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The minister reportedly said that in Poland “whoever did this did a good job” and that “the Americans knew about it before and didn’t stop it.” Although it is difficult to fully confirm the authenticity of these words, their context may have been manipulated, as is often the case in these types of disinformation campaigns.
“Trash propaganda”
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded quickly to these reports. Press Spokesperson’s Office in response to Belsat said it was “trash Russian propaganda that was supposed to be funny and youthful.” In an assessment Ministry of Foreign Affairs the recording was intended to divert media attention from important events, such as the minister’s meeting Sikorski with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that some of the phrases allegedly uttered by the minister Sikorski were repeatedly raised in various settings, which may suggest that the pranksters relied on the politician’s public statements to manipulate the recording.
